Uzumaki Naruto: Guardian Enforcer
by Garnetio Solozari
Summary: Naruto, after being used by Jiraiya to impress a cheap floozy, ends up being sealed into limbo with his only true friend... the Kyuubi! Confused, alone, and totally screwed, the two are startled by the infamous Shinigami. Instead of dragging their sorry asses to the afterlife, she decides to send them on another journey... Smart Naru, slight bashing, not OP. Non-canon. AU... bruh.
1. Chapter 1

**_Welcome to another Naruto fanfiction by little old me. I was inspired to write this story by another writer here named The Engulfing Silence. Their story 'Legend of Gaia's Sennin' is a wonderful read, you should all check it out for yourselves! No spoilers, just go find it!_**

 ** _Now on with Chapter One!_**

 **"Guardian Forces, Demons, Big Mother Truckers talkin bout thangs."**

 **'Same big mother truckers thinkin real hard.'**

* * *

 _'_ _That stupid… old… perverted… bastard…'_

Quite the first thought to pass through the head of Uzumaki Naruto upon waking up feeling like his entire body had been on fire. Over the years it was not uncommon for him to awaken in pain, considering where his life had led him since the day he had been born. At seventeen years old, he could count on two hands the number of positive memories he had, which if you asked him, sucked major balls. If that wasn't shocking enough for you, then consider the number of people he cared about being countable on one hand. As he stirred from his forced slumber, he contemplated taking one old pervert off that list. It had all started when the bastard woke him up from a wonderfully sound sleep with his sick giggling and the smell of strong sake.

* * *

 ** _Memories of Knucklehead Naruto_**

 _Naruto had been sleeping after a long and rough day of training. His oldest friend, an insanely powerful being of pure hatred and corruption, had given him quite a regimen to follow alongside the training he was to do with his master, the great toad sage Jiraiya. The insane physical and mental training he had endured over the years had been a bit of a secret between the young ninja in training and his demonic friend. Most people were under the impression that the two hated one another, but any ninja would be insane to believe what they saw on the surface. Naruto's second true sensei had been the only man to see the truth, because he had always been one to preach about looking underneath the underneath. The months his former sensei, Hatake Kakashi, spent focusing all of his attention on Naruto's team mate, 'the teme,' was all a ruse the two of them had developed to cover Naruto's true strength._

 _In reality, Naruto was quite possibly one of the most talented prodigies to be born within the leaves, but being a true ninja that he was, he put on a strong façade of being a complete failure. His potential had been what drew the attention of a beast that lived within the young blonde, and instead of corrupting and destroying the boy, the beast offered his paw in friendship. The deal had been made in blood and chakra, and so long as Naruto dedicated all of his time into training, the beast would allow the blonde to maintain his sanity. It would have been so easy to destroy him, let him wallow in self pity and fall to darkness, but that would not have gone over well with… others. A certain ox, octopus monstrosity would never let the beast live it down._

 _This beast, the only true friend Naruto ever made, was none other than the legendary nine-tailed-fox demon. Known as Kyu by Naruto, he had been a constant in the blonde's life since he had turned seven. Naruto had never been treated well and Kyu had grown weary of watching the world from the eyes of a disturbed little boy. On a particularly horrid night after the festival of his supposed death, the fox watched the blonde sleeping in a hospital bed. Always having to heal the little runt after these terrible beatings was boring, but if the body died he would break apart and have to spend the next few decades reforming. While tedious as all hell, that was one fucking boring process, and he had better things to do than spend years gathering all his floating bits of chakra. In a fit of motivation to end his imprisonment the fox focused on the subconscious mind of his host to draw him into the strange inner sanctum he lived in. The process was risky with someone so young, but if he broke the little fool's mind... all the better for him to possess. He was surprised when the runt appeared directly in front of him rather than lost in the many dizzying pathways that surrounded his cell._

 _Upon his arrival Naruto woke and sat up, obviously uncomfortable sitting in the knee deep water he appeared in. He scowled a cute little grimace as he padded the water out of his ears, which amused the beastly fox considering the body was ethereal at best. He wondered how frightened the boy would be when he saw him, how easily he could manipulate the boy into breaking to his sorrow. Imagine the fox's surprise when the blonde boy stood and looked around with indifference. When Naruto eyed the large bars of the cage he actually sighed as if annoyed, but quickly put on his cursed mischief grin that sent shivers down the spines of his prank victims._

 _"_ _I was wondering when you would pull me in here, fox." Naruto's voice was amused, and it slightly irritated the Kyuubi._

 _"_ _So, we finally meet at last. I was wondering when my warden would…-"Kyu spoke his rehearsed lines until he noticed the mirthful expression on Naruto's face, "What is so God damned funny you brat!?"_

 _"_ _It's just… your face… its so serious… haha…. I mean… it's not like I haven't been here before…" Naruto replied while gripping his sides trying to hold in his amusement._

 _Kyu grumbled something about unfairness and stupid children before speaking again, "What do you mean, brat?"_

 _Naruto wiped a tear from his imaginary eye and looked up to the bars before him, "When I was five and a half I read a book someone threw out about meditation helping with memory retention. When I tried to meditate I ended up here in this pit. I was lost in those weird tunnels with the pipes and sewer water, but I eventually got here. I was so surprised, dattebayo!"_

 _The red eyes of the Kyuubi narrowed menacingly as he growled lowly, "You could not have, I would have remembered."_

 _"_ _You were taking a nap, and I didn't want to bother you. I waited a while to see if you would wake up, but when you didn't I left because my body on the outside was hungry." Naruto had struck a thinking pose with his left hand holding his chin while his right hand held his left elbow._

 _Though it was unseen in the darkness, one could hear the obvious sound of a large palm slapping against a furry face, "God damn it…"_

 _"_ _So you're the fox everyone talks about on my birthday. I dunno what their problem is, you're super cool! I really like how your tails move around even when you sleep. Do they have like, minds of their own?" Naruto's childish curiosity and eagerness were another surprise to the beast, and then he walked out of the darkness to sit in front of the bars where the boy could see him._

 _"_ _You do not fear me?" The great fox asked suspiciously, his eyes still narrowed as he sensed for ill intent from the child._

 _Naruto tilted his head, "I think I am supposed to, but the people who talk about it are also the jerks who harass me and put me in the stupid hospital. Should I fear you?"_

 _"_ _You're asking me?" The Kyuubi slowly lay down on his belly with his arms crossed under his chest._

 _"_ _Well of course! I don't know you, I don't know where you've been, I don't know what your life has been like… so if I judge you from what others tell me, then I am being dumb. I don't like to feel dumb. I like tricking others into thinking I am dumb, but I don't want you to think I am dumb if you are as powerful as they say. You might get annoyed and stomp on me like a cockroach." Naruto's innocent voice and obvious good intent was the strangest thing that the fox had ever seen or felt._

 _The boy was smarter than he let on, and his innocence was a refreshing change from the constant surge of hate and despair the other filthy flesh bags let off. Even among the children his age he had felt nothing as pure as he did from this boy. How could he have been so hasty to hate his container? He never considered the possibility that he might be… impressed by a mere child. His lack of faith in humanity had blinded him, and despite trying to deny it, it made him feel ill. The very darkness that he found repulsive in the hearts of humans had tainted his own heart and mind. What would the old man think if he saw how far one of his own children had fallen?_

 _With a firm nod the Kyuubi stared into the eyes of his container, "Child, you have nothing to fear from me, you have my word."_

 _Little Naruto watched the oversized fox extend his balled up paw to press firmly against the bars of his cage, and he knew exactly what the monster wanted. How did he know it? That would be a mystery he never solved, but at that moment he knew to stand up and walk over to the bars. He felt the slow breathing of the beast wash over him as he leaned through the bars. Moments later, his tiny fist pushed against the gigantic fox paw, and a strange burst of understanding overwhelmed him. The fox wondered if the boy would scream or run away, perhaps he would even curse him for being what he was. Instead, he found another shock was due, as the blonde boy cried silent tears that sparkled on his cheeks in the dim ghostly lighting of the chamber._

 _"_ _Why do you cry, boy?" The Kyuubi spoke with a low rumble as he tried to quell his inner malice to speak in more civil tones._

 _Naruto wiped his face of his tears, never choking or hiccupping once, "It's nothing, just… sorry about all this… being trapped thing. I get how angry you are now."_

 _"_ _You are a strange creature… none of the other children you have ever observed have been so mature, and many of the adults as well. I like you."_

 _From that day forward, Naruto had his first proper sensei. The fox had been able to fill the gaps in his education that the books he had stolen or found thrown in the garbage had left. With his education soon up to the standards set by his irritable partner, Naruto was then forced to suffer through the nine levels of hell. The nine levels of hell had been a series of physical limits that Naruto would have to reach and subsequently shatter and surpass. First he was put through the hell of flexibility training due to his young body being ill prepared for muscle strengthening. The fox had been merciless with his instruction and demanded that Naruto give two hundred percent in each exercise. There were several nights when Naruto would return to his apartment bow legged or with dislocated joints. The beast within him had assured him that his wounds would heal over night, which only served to horrify the boy._

 _The second level of hell had been stamina, and had been one of the harshest. Being an Uzumaki, the boy had been gifted with the stamina of ten professional runners. His hyper personality when he had been younger was all due to pent up energy. The Kyuubi capitalized on this and forced Naruto to run for days on end, stopping only to rehydrate and have a bowl of his favorite food to replenish his sodium. Naruto could feel his muscles still running and pushing for days after he had finished his six month running exercises. Six months of running three days straight, resting for one day, and running for the next three. It had been the quietest six months the village had ever seen since the days before the Kyuubi attack. Naruto was sure to remind the village of his existence… thoroughly._

 _The third level of hell had been a focus on his hands, specifically learning how to move them accurately as quickly as possible. This sounds simple, no? The fox though so too and he was sure to keep the exercises interesting. Once Naruto had been able to form the standard hand seals required for ninja techniques, he was forced to do so while wearing weights on his wrists. The boy had been forced to use shopping bags filled with rocks to substitute for actual training weights. After the weighted training, Naruto spent weeks sneaking to one of the training grounds to submerge his hands in water for resistance training. By the fifth week, Naruto began wondering why he had agreed to train with his evil sadist fox sensei._

 _The fourth and fifth levels of hell had been dedicated to his chakra. Kyu had been adamant that he would not allow Naruto to go around with the chakra control of a drunken monkey. Naruto spent hours meditating, and this became his least favorite level due to sheer boredom. Sitting around for hours is not something ideal for a growing boy with the stamina of a demigod. While the time was much shorter than his previous levels, it felt longer because of the inactivity that accompanied his meditation. Kyu was able to manipulate Naruto's body, developing his young chakra coils with ease while Naruto shut his body down. Kyu theorized that if he were better equipped to hold his massive amounts of chakra, it would be easier for his body to utilize it more efficiently. Naruto wasn't completely sure what all of that meant, but by the end of his alterations he was able to master a few techniques that Naruto found extremely useful for pulling pranks. The village was never the same again._

 _By the time Naruto had finally been allowed to start his strength level he had joined the academy to become a ninja. The classes were dreadfully boring, but Kyu forced the boy to stay awake and alert during his lessons. He explained to Naruto that learning history for many perspectives gave one a better understanding of how the world worked. The winners would paint pictures of beauty, heroism, romanticism, and courage. The losers would create villains of their enemies, blood baths of their losses, and instill fear in the hearts of future generations to insight hate. To open one's mind us to be open to understanding, and eventually acceptance. While Naruto would spend his afternoons lifting weights and performing routine exercises to balance the development of all his muscle groups, he would spend his days learning history, tactics, and strategies. Most of the time he was already versed in the topics his temporary sensei would cover, so he would spend that time perfecting his mask of idiocy._

 _Following his strength training Naruto was surprised to find out that he would be continuing the use of his weights to increase his speed. He found it odd that he would need to continue to use weights, but that confusion was short lived when he realized that lifting weights, and trying to run with weights attached to your shins were completely different. The burning he had felt when he had worked on his stamina was a sweet memory compared to the severe pain his torn muscles filled him with during his speed exercises. He was an odd sight running through the village with plastic bags dangling from his legs and waist, and many would laugh behind his back. Naturally Naruto used this to further his reputation as a desperate fool with no future._

 _The eighth level of hell was an introduction to the wonderful world of stealth. Naruto laughed when the Kyuubi suggested that he needed to learn anything about stealth. He had spent years dodging the villagers, both civilians and shinobi alike, and had almost never been caught. Kyu pointed out that almost wasn't going to keep him alive. At first Naruto found the training to be very standard and a tad boring, but he was assured that his final test would require him to take each lesson to heart. Disguises, traps, camouflage, deception, misdirection, and evasion were all key areas he was forced to practice under stressful situations. The number of times the ANBU had nearly caught the boy was far too high for Naruto's taste, but he was never caught. His final exam had been presented to him by Kyu during the summer of his second year in the academy. Steal a tray of dumplings from a specific patron at one of the more popular shinobi hangouts in town, and survive._

 _Naruto spent the rest of his time in the academy studying diligently during the day, while running for his life after classes. Stealth was not the only skill the boy utilized to try and evade and survive the attacks of his unknowing exam proctor. He had no idea the woman could hold such a harsh grudge against someone, and Kyu found the entire thing incredibly hilarious. Kyu noted that added bonus to his host having no time to idle being his lack of ramen intake and he was pleased. The boy was forced to forage on the run, and as a side effect it helped develop his survival skills and foraging knowledge. A healthy diet of wild berries, mushrooms, and the occasional fish did wonders for his overall health. When the woman he had angered had finally sated her blood lust by pinning the boy upside down on the wall of the women's hot springs changing room, Kyu was positive that the boy would never underestimate the importance of stealth and the basics of survival again._

 _Naruto graduated the academy at the bottom of his class, as planned, and consequently ended up on the same team as one of his least favorite classmates, as well as a girl who made the hair on his neck stand on end. The boy, if you could call him a boy, was the least likely person to smile that was ever born. He put on a cold and aloof front to hide his inner cry baby, and the girls ate it up like the masochists they were. None of those girls could compare to his female team mate, if you could consider her flat chest and oversized forehead body female. She was loud, obnoxiously obsessed with his male team mate, and harbored and irrational hatred for Naruto that he was sure would bother him if Kyu had not drilled it into his head that women with pink hair were guaranteed to break your heart. Something about combining the heartless cold attitude of a blonde with the fiery uncontrollable spirit of a redhead to create a natural pink hair color being something only the most evil of demons from the depths of hell would dream up. Whatever it was, he knew to steer clear of that chick, lest he get daily concussions._

 _He met Kakashi back then, and the two of them spoke privately. Naruto was impressed by the level and skill of his new sensei and the two trained in deception rather than fighting skill. Naruto never let his team mates see the real him, always pretending to be an idiot with no class and no skill. His male team mate trained in combat with their sensei exclusively, while the female simply watched in awe of her beloved. Months passed, and while Naruto never let his skill show, he did perform his team work exercises with precision and professionalism, even if he did celebrate with a ridiculous cheer after every success. Their stint of D ranked missions lasted too long for his liking, but he let his team mates decide when they had had enough, allowing his idiot persona to choose lazy and easy over difficult and more rewarding. Their first C rank that followed was a complete and utter shit storm._

 _The lesson that Naruto learned on that C rank mission was one that he would never forget. It had not been a test of strength, skill, or endurance. There was nowhere to hide, no way to run… and the end result would haunt him for years to come. He learned then why it was important to fight, why he had to study and train and go beyond the limits he found in himself. He would fight harder, fly higher, and do whatever it took to become stronger and protect his loved ones. That was his motto from then on: fight for others and never stop growing. It took weeks for his team to truly recover from the trauma of their first real mission, but Naruto was undeterred. In his time away from his nosy and meddlesome team mates Naruto was busy with the final level of hell, converting and manipulating his chakra into different elements. This level would take years of diligent practice, but Kyu was nothing if not a patient and doting sensei to his container._

 _It would be a few weeks later that Naruto would meet his final true sensei, the man he respected, but hated with a seething passion. This man was Jiraiya, the sage of toads. Jiraiya was a man of many talents stronger than most any other shinobi in the elemental nations and known worldwide for his special series of erotic novels. Naruto would be a fool to underestimate the benefits of being taught by someone so well regarded. The problem Naruto found with this man… was his inability to resist the vices of the world. As a shinobi it had been drilled into him at the academy to avoid lust, greed, and gluttony. Jiraiya found comfort in all the worst kinds of sins. He drank wine each night surrounded by women, never being satisfied for long. Under the guise of researching for his perverted writing he would spy on innocent women while abusing his shinobi training to do so. Naruto found he needed to guard his wallet from the thieving hands of his sensei, lest he find Gama-chan empty each morning._

 _The man spirited Naruto away on a training journey to remove him from the village to keep him safe while he grew. Naruto found this to his liking after a particularly nasty incident with his male team mate running off to have an affair with a pedophile. His female team mate sank into a spiraling depression that Naruto was sure would end her career, but that wasn't his problem anymore. He would learn to defend himself and his few loved ones while traveling with an old pervert and his foxy sensei. Months turned to years, and the number of skills that he accumulated was impressive. Jiraiya was a terrible sensei, but his vast knowledge of techniques was nearly endless. While the pervert would wet his whistle, Naruto would take his lessons on each technique from his true sensei. Kyu had an understanding of chakra and how to manipulate it that would make even the legendary Hokage of old envious._

 _Due to several speed bumps along their journey, Naruto was away for much longer than he had promised the few friends he had made. He left at the age of thirteen, and four years had passed instead of the two he had planned. His training had turned him into a machine of power and precision. Gone were the loud and obnoxious colors that he had favored to hide his personality. He had bid farewell to the cheering and victory dances that had made him the fool. He was still a notorious prankster and his ass would give a Nara a run for their money, if you know what I mean. Things were looking promising… until that night on his seventeenth birthday. He had been sleeping peacefully in the hotel room he had rented with the pervert sage. He woke with a start when his body was suddenly bound tightly with ninja wire. Relaxing to avoid being cut by the razor wires, he took in his surroundings quickly to try and grasp how boned he was. Jiraiya was standing at the foot of his bedroll with a young and busty brunette hanging off his left arm. The two smelled of booze, a lot of booze, and their faces were nearly as red as his pervert master's clothes._

 _"_ _Now watch thish, itsh gonnu be aweshum. You… you'll never see real ninja tricks like thesh anywhere!" Jiraiya sounded severely drunk, nearly passed out, which was very strange._

 _Naruto looked around and saw a strange set of markings painted on the floor around him. He could make out a good portion of the seals around him with the help of his advanced seal training Kyu had advised him to pursue. He had been told that sealing was in his blood, but until he actually tried the art he had his doubts. Damned if the fox wasn't right again, because the seals just… made sense to him. He could recreate most any seals after only a dozen or so attempts, and remembering their functions was second nature. It was like remembering a language that he'd been speaking since birth. Judging by the sloppy form of the seals he could make out, he knew that this was a bad idea. He looked at his sensei with pleading eyes while sweat beaded up on his neck and face._

 _"_ _Yo, pervy sage, this ain't fucking funny man! What you trying to pull?! This could seriously kill me, dattebayo!" Naruto yelled while trying to wriggle out of the matrix area._

 _Jiraiya jerked the wire to shift Naruto roughly toward the center of the matrix again before gathering chakra into the tips of his fingers, "Sit still gaki, this won't hurt one… bit!"_

 _To the utter delight of his floozy lady friend, he slammed his glowing fingers down into the floor to infuse chakra into his haphazardly drawn seal. The blue flames erupted immediately and shocked everyone, Naruto cried out as the fire burned through his clothes and soon after his skin. This pain was unlike anything he had ever felt before. He could faintly hear the voice of his oldest and dearest friend screaming out for him to hold on. Kyu was the only precious person he had, the one he grew strong for, the one he fought for so that he would never have to fear being split apart. This bullshit bad luck wasn't going to stop him. He was Uzumaki Naruto damn it! He was the best friend and protector of the Kyuubi no Kitsune! It was going to take a hell of a lot more than some stupid blue chakra flames to get in his way!_

 _Naruto fought and fought, his body healing and burning over and over, the sensation of falling through space filling what little of his senses weren't occupied by the unbearable pain he was feeling. He thought it would never end… and then it did._

 ** _Memories End_**

* * *

"Fuck… at least the fire stopped… I think. Kyu, you there buddy?" Naruto called out loud while keeping his eyes shut to avoid seeing the damage that had been done.

" **Thank Kami you're awake, kit. I was… concerned. Your training isn't over yet after all.** " Kyu replied, though his voice was far less imposing as it usually was. The fox also sounded like he was speaking from outside Naruto's head, but that was crazy…

Naruto rubbed a hand at his face and was relieved to find no burns causing him pain, "Yeah yeah I know big guy, always have to be tough and uncaring. I know you were worried, so just say it already. Also confess that you love me like a brother and that you want your belly rubbed."

An indignant snort followed Naruto's teasing remark, " **Shut that mouth of yours for five seconds so you can see the trouble we're in… and I do not want my belly rubbed!** "

"So you say…" Naruto smirked before opening his eyes and wincing at the overwhelming brightness of pure white, "…Oh God what the hell is going on now?"

" **For once… I can honestly say that I am clueless.** " Kyu said before stepping around Naruto and into his field of vision. The once great fox that attacked the village hidden among the leaves had been reduced to the side of a mere cabin. While he still towered over any man, he was much more approachable.

Naruto's eyes widened like saucers before softening and glazing over, "Kyu… you're free?"

The Kyuubi sat on his haunches and smiled, it was not menacing, nor maniacal, instead it was warm and amused, probably because of Naruto's gaping expression, " **Yes Kit, whatever has happened to us… I am free.** "

Naruto let whatever walls he held up to protect himself fall, all pretense of toughness or male bravado shattered like many shards of stained glass. Silent tears were shed that seemed to drift into the emptiness that surrounded the two of them. In a gesture that no human who had ever heard or seen of the terror that was the Kyuubi would ever dare to dream of, Naruto leapt across the space between them and latched onto the furry leg of the Kyuubi no Kitsune. Instead of lashing out in terrible anger, or cursing in pure hatred, Kyu simply smiled a more broad and genuine smile than he had ever given to any mortal being. He let the little human hold onto his soft furred leg like the life line that he knew he had always been. The great demon would never admit this to anyone, man or beast or god herself.., but he loved the little brat like a brother. And Naruto loved him, he had felt it for years, the growing adoration that a younger sibling felt for their elders. This had been what had finally cleansed him of his hatred and set him free of the dark cycle that had hounded his soul for so long.

"Kyu… I am so glad you are free. This is the best thing ever, dattebayo!" Naruto hiccupped at the end, but his happiness was genuine.

Kyu snickered softly while nudging Naruto with his large and cold nose, " **Oi, brat, I thought we got rid of that little tick of yours.** "

"Shush, I can't help it when I get excited, you know. This is fantastic! I have always wanted to feel what your fur felt like outside of my crappy imagination! You're wonderful bro!" Naruto exclaimed with a goofy hundred watt grin.

Kyu shook the idiot off while huffing, though his amused smile never wavered, " **Yes well, be that as it may, before you get all sappy again we need to get the hell out of this pickle we're in. I don't fancy being caught in a damned void for the rest of eternity, and eventually you are going to have to eat, and without your clothes your sealed rations aren't going to be an option.** "

It took Naruto all of three precious seconds to register what had just been said, and then the white endless void echoed with the screaming call of the majestic naked moron, "KYA!"

"Well, if it isn't Hagoromo's eldest boy… What in the hell are you doing in a place like this?"

The voice both teen and fox heard caused them both to turn rapidly to face their guest. Standing in simple black robes was a woman, her face half concealed by a demon mask made of pure bone. Nothing of detail could be seen beneath her flowing robes save a sword that barely tented the long sweeping cloth of her garment. Her eyes were dark, black even, with no discernible pupil. An eerie feeling seemed to fall over the pair of males like cold water dousing them from above. Naruto had no clue who this strange woman was, but Kyu seemed to recognize her right away, and he didn't seem too pleased about it.

" **You've got to be fucking kidding me! That perverted old bastard killed my container and sent us to some kind of purgatory hell zone?!** " Kyu roared into the air at no one in particular, amusing the woman by the look of her exposed eyes, which reminded Naruto of Kakashi and his patented eye-smile.

"Oi, bro, the hell is wrong with you all of a sudden? Who is the chick?" Naruto asked innocently, though he missed the sudden tick mark on the unnamed woman's forehead.

Kyu stopped on the nonexistent floor roughly as panic set into his facial features, " **Shut that damn ramen hole of yours before you get the both of us eaten you god damn moron! That is the SHINIGAMI FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY!** "

Naruto squinted while he eyed the Shinigami with an inquisitive gaze, assuming his thinking pose. He then walked up to the lady in black and kept his eyes tightly squinted while he leaned into her face, causing said woman to actually sweat a little and lean back. Suddenly, Naruto stepped back and pointed a lazy finger in her direction while scrunching his face up in a fox like grimace, "You ate my dad."

The silence that followed was something of legend. Shinigami and Kyuubi watched with unbelieving eyes as the blonde just stood there pointing an accusing finger at her. He wasn't freaking out or swearing or challenging anyone to a fight. He just stood there, pointing his tanned and callused finger at her. If it had been under any other circumstances, Kyu would surely have been roaring with laughter on the ground. The situation being what it was… he was praying to any Gods listening that she would at least spare him an eternity in her bubbling acidic stomach of hellish pain and flames.

"…Yes, yes I did eat your dad's soul." Shinigami was able to respond after finding her voice, as well as checking to make sure she wasn't having some trippy pot dream.

"That sucks. I figure the couple thousand ninja he sent your way during the Third War wasn't enough payment to cover cutting my bro here in half and putting him in my stomach?" Naruto questioned while tapping his bare naked foot on the… nothingness.

Shinigami had he good grace to actually rub her hooded head in embarrassment, "Well I mean… it's just that…"

"Not to mention all the Uzumakis who died during the Second War, and all of the ninja they killed. All those souls my family on both sides sent you and you still had to swallow my dad's soul for this whole sealing ritual thing?" Naruto pushed on with his argument while he grew increasingly irritated.

"When you say it like that it sounds…" Shinigami started but she was cut off by Naruto's hand lifting up to silence her.

"No excuses, you know what you did. Tell you what, next time you want to fuck me, just push me onto a table and get it over with." Naruto said with finality as he crossed his arms over his chest.

The silence that followed was once again something to be remembered, though it was broken sporadically by the uncontrolled snickers that Kyu could no longer suppress.

"I-I beg your pardon?!" Shinigami growled angrily while her hand flew to her zanpakuto.

"My mother's clan was obliterated, my father's clan was extinct after his death, and you decided to just take his soul and fucking devour it as a sacrifice to store a giant fox into my stomach so that I would be hated for the rest of my life. You took my father, knowing my mother was dying right the fuck there by his side effectively leaving a newborn with no one to care for him. Whether it makes sense or not, I'm gonna be ticked off at you for a little while, and you can forget feeling the wondrous sensation of my smooth Uzumaki lips on your perk behind, because your ass shant be favored with my sweet kisses, oh fair lady of death." Naruto turned his back to the now fuming lady Shinigami.

" **Bwahahaha! Oh fuck that was good; I don't even care if I end up in hell. That was so worth it. Boy, you have the balls of legend.** " Kyu was on his back with his paws grasping at his heaving furry chest.

"You know what, screw you guys! I was going to send you both somewhere nice to get you out of this void since technically you aren't dead, but you can both just forget that!" Shinigami yelled while sounding very mature and not like a spoiled child.

Naruto sighed and turned to face the black clad death god again with a glare, "Look, I'm sorry if I offended your delicate sensibilities or whatever, but that is no excuse to punish Kyu. Send him where ever and leave me here to sulk for a few thousand years or something. Whatever floats your boat sweet tits."

Shinigami chose to wisely ignore that last little crack, knowing full well her bosom was not visible in the loose fitting attire that she wore, "…I suppose I can… overlook your attitude this time. As you said, your kin have suffered enough… I do not need another Uzumaki so soon. Instead I have decided to send the both of you some place that is in need of a hero. The Elemental Nations have had a long run, but at this point I have grown tired of watching your silly people kill each other. The world I have in mind is far newer and I grow weary of watching the lot of them teeter on the verge of collapse."

By then both Naruto and Kyu had made their way over to the Shinigami and sat down to listen, "Where is this place if not in the Elemental Nations?"

"I will be sending you to another world that I cannot name, for the people of that world care little for labeling their planet. They are too focused on their own petty issue to think of the greater universe they are a part of. The beings that watch over the humans there rival the Tailed Beasts in power. They are known by the humans of that world as Guardian Forces, though they prefer to be known as Gods and Goddesses. Some stand tall as mountains while others are almost human. I will be introducing you to one of their kind who is the friendliest toward the people that walk their world. Her name is Shiva, and she governs the icy winds of winter."

Shinigami brought her sword from its sheath to let the pitch black steel of the blade glint from an unseen light. The make was simple, though the sword was anything but normal. With a slow swipe of her sword she opened a portal that seemed to ooze with darkness so thick one might be able to scoop it up in their palm. From the opening a strange woman stepped out rather cautiously. She was a strange sight, being that her skin was mostly blue, and mostly visible. She had a very thin build, though she had curves where they counted. While not ridiculously disproportioned like some of the women Naruto had grown used to seeing, this odd female was very beautiful in her own unique way. Her hair fell down her back in sky blue waves that danced in an unseen breeze. Naruto felt a chill when her eyes fell on him, though it wasn't because of fear or trepidation, she simply personified what one thought when one felt cold. Governess of Ice indeed, Naruto couldn't doubt that title even if he wanted to.

" **What is the meaning of this odd summoning? I sense no danger.** " The woman said in a voice that rang like the tones of soft flutes on the breeze.

Shinigami sheathed her sword and nodded toward the newcomer in acknowledgement, "I am known as Shinigami, herald of death and watcher of souls. I brought you, Shiva of the Winter, here to discuss a matter of great importance."

" **I see… speak then, and let us be done so I may return to my home.** " Shiva insisted while eyeing everyone cautiously, her icy sky blue eyes lingering on Naruto with curiosity.

"As you wish, I have brought you here to inform you that I will be placing a new soul on your world. As one of the divine beings of your realm I am obligated to make you and yours aware of his arrival. Your word is final though, so if you refuse I will be forced to send him to the afterlife." Shinigami replied smoothly, enjoying the look on Naruto's face. He didn't have to know that she could send him elsewhere.

Shiva turned her gaze to the two males before lifting into the air and floating over gracefully. Naruto froze, pun intended, and let the strange deity of snow and ice scrutinize him. He wasn't particularly fond of being observed like a piece of meat, but he didn't want to give Shiva a reason to deny him access to her realm. She floated in front of him and leaned down close to look into his eyes, icy sky blue boring into deep cerulean for several moments. And then, she smiled a dazzling smile while twirling and casting several snowflakes about the area, some landing on Naruto's bare skin and causing goose bumps to spread. When she stopped she was facing him again with her smile still in place.

" **Of course he can come, he is wonderful! He contains a great strength that my brothers and sisters will find most refreshing. Oh, I am so glad that you brought me to him, I will be able to rub this right in Cerberus' smug faces.** " Shiva gave a rather cute victorious pose while smirking into the empty space above Naruto's head.

The blonde sweated a bit while his right eye twitched, "Why do I feel like I have become some kind of arm candy trophy husband…?"

" **So what will become of me, Shinigami-Sama?** " Kyu asked while feeling a bit left out.

Shinigami regarded him for a moment before her eyes smiled again, "You will become a Guardian Force of course. You will be free to roam the world and find a place to call your own. I recommend conferring with the existing Guardian Forces so that you do not step on anyone's toes."

" **Yes! The others will be happy to have another Guardian Force to help govern the planet.** " Shiva was clearly excited, behaving like a child that had just been told they had a new sibling.

" **I suppose that sounds like an interesting change of pace. I would like a chance to protect instead of destroy. As long as I may remain with my… my little brother, then I will accept the position.** " Kyu said while holding his paw to his lips as if covering a cough, though it was mostly to hide his small flush.

Naruto said nothing, not wanting to ruin the moment. He had wanted to hear the Kyuubi acknowledge him as a brother for a long time. He didn't cry, or make a fuss, or scream out like an idiot. He sniffed lightly while rubbing a stray tear from his face while grinning like a mad man. In a simple gesture Naruto held up his fist towards the large fox just like Kyu had done when he was seven. The fox eyed the fist with a hint of surprise, but that quickly washed away in favor of a great smile that reached his large red eyes for the first time in a long while. A large furry fist bumped into a much smaller human fist and the two glowed for a moment before the light vanished and Naruto looked around.

"The heck was that?" Naruto asked no one in particular.

Shiva flew over right into his face causing the blonde to nearly topple over, " **That is impossible! You two just formed a true bond! No human has been able to do that in a millennia! Please, would you take my hand?** "

Naruto watched the female ice goddess lift her dainty hand with a cautious smile. He could tell she was hoping for something, but he didn't quite understand what it was yet. Having nothing to lose, and not being able to refuse a request from a pretty girl no matter how strange her appearance was, Naruto lifted his hand up to lock with hers. Their fingers curled until they held a firm grasp of each other, and just like before a bright glow filled the area and then just as quickly vanished. Naruto was about to intelligently ask the same question as before, but he was stopped by the excited burst of pure glee that Shiva let loose in the form of snowflake confetti.

" **This is a most glorious occasion Naruto Uzumaki! There has not been a true summoner in so long! I do not know whether to tell everyone or no one of this! You will be sought after by many Guardians, that is to be sure. If I had not already agreed to allow you into my realm, this would have surely sealed the deal. I must go at once to inform the others. Come, new brother, and we shall tell the others of your little human.** " Shiva gestured with her hand to summon forth a great mirror of ice.

Naruto watched in awe of the mirror. It brought back painful memories of his past, but those same memories had inspired him to become who he was now. That thought made him smile, and as he watched Kyu being pulled into the mirror while struggling, he laughed. Kyu heard his little human brother laughing at his expense, but he only smiled.

" **I will see you soon, Naruto-kun.** " Kyu nodded toward the blonde who waved exaggeratedly back at him.

"See you soon Onii-san! Don't be asleep when I come visit your new den, okay?" Naruto replied cheekily with the foxy grin that he had inherited from being around Kyu for so many years.

" **No promises you little brat!** "

And with that, the mirror dissolved behind the pair of Guardians, and the realization that Naruto was, for the first time in a long time, utterly alone sank into the blonde. He stood and dusted off his backside and thighs. No time for moping, or else Kyu would kick his ass and call him a baby when they met back up on the other side. Shinigami walked over to him slowly and when she stopped she struck a pose that looked distinctly like her hands were on her hips. She eyed Naruto up and down, lingering a moment longer than Naruto would have liked when her eyes went down. The blonde crossed his eyes and grunted to get her attention.

"So… this is going to hurt like a bitch, isn't it?" Naruto beat around no bushes that day.

"Oh God yeah it will." Shinigami replied while nodding sagely.

"You're going to stab me in the chest, ain't ya?" He added while puckering his lips a bit to sniff at his upper lip.

"Have… have we done this before?" Shinigami asked, taken aback by his question.

"No, but I know karma. I spouted a lot of horse shit earlier. It would serve me right if this hurt like a mother fucker. Added bonus for the victim of my ire would be if they got to fuck me up at the same time. That sword looks wicked painful." Naruto deduced with flawless logic.

"…You aren't an idiot?" The saddest part was the genuine surprise that was in her voice.

Naruto palmed his face gently and rubbed the bridge of his nose, "Just… just stab me please."

* * *

When Naruto woke up again it took him several moments to register that his body was no longer cold. He was lying down again, but this time he could definitely feel some kind of mattress or cushion. When his nose began to work, he could smell rubbing alcohol and sterilization solutions. Judging by the brightness of his eyelids he was under a light fixture of some kind emitting harsh white light, perhaps fluorescent bulbs. All of these discoveries added up to one thought in his mind…

 _'_ _Fuck, I'm in a damn hospital.'_

When Naruto tried to sit up he found his body was bound to whatever bed he was currently laying in. He heaved a sigh and let his eyes open slowly to adjust to the bright lights. He was indeed in some kind of clinic or hospital, considering he would know those damned drop ceilings anywhere. It was like looking at a cake with poorly made frosting spread on top. The thousands of little bumps and craters on the thin piece of tile had always annoyed him to no end. He struggled a little more to get comfortable, but stopped when he heard the clearing of a throat nearby. The now ex-shinobi turned slowly to look at the man seated beside his bed.

This man had to be the nicest looking fellow he had ever seen. Naruto was used to seeing strong men, weak men, ugly men, overly handsome men, girly men like his ex team mate… but he had never seen a truly nice man before. The man was clearly older, possibly in his forties or fifties. His medium length brown hair was parted down the middle so his short bangs framed his forehead. On his nose sat a pair of round glasses that reminded Naruto of a certain bastard from his past. He wore a long sleeve white shirt under a dark brown vest with a blue tie nearly fastened around his neck. His slacks were a dark blue, and Naruto guessed he probably wore a pair of dress shoes to compliment his style. This man personified kindness, and his fatherly smile caused Naruto to relax almost instantly.

"Good to see you finally awake there young man. The shape you were in when our students found you we were worried you wouldn't make it. Doctor Kadowaki is truly a miracle worker." The gentleman spoke with a tone that only helped to cement his position as a fatherly figure to anyone lucky enough to meet him.

"Where… am I exactly?" Naruto asked while swallowing to moisten his dry throat.

"You are currently in the infirmary located within Balamb Garden. You were found heavily wounded on the side of the road between here and the nearby town of Balamb. Care to explain how you ended up there?"

Naruto didn't know how to respond so he pulled out an oldie, "I… I don't remember."

The older gentleman looked at Naruto the same way that Kakashi always had, and Jiraiya had after him. It was a knowing stare that seemed to bore right through Naruto, laying all his secrets bare. A twinkle seemed to shine in his eye, and he smiled a bit more than before. Whatever the old man was thinking he seemed pleased, but Naruto wasn't sure if that was good or bad yet.

"You can't fool a fool my dear boy. I saw your body when they brought you in. You are a warrior, not some random civilian in over his head on the road. It seems you keep your secrets close, which I think may be for the best. That leaves me with a very serious problem, unfortunately. You see, I am Headmaster Cid, the top tier at Balamb Garden. I make the decisions on who stays within these halls, and who hits the road. What do I do?" The newly named Cid asked while crossing his arms.

Naruto thought about his position and sighed, knowing he was stuck, "Headmaster you say? Isn't that a title for someone who is the head of a school?"

"Why yes, it is. I am the headmaster of Balamb Garden, a very prestigious battle school. Students enroll here to learn to be soldiers, but not the rank and file that storm the castle and die in waves. The students of a Garden are elite special forces trained to fight, infiltrate, assassinate, sabotage, and anything else their clients' require of them in their contracts." Cid recited this as if he had been reading a cue card, and Naruto felt like this had been a little too well worded to be a simple recollection.

"How does one join one of these Gardens?" Naruto asked, already wishing that he had asked a few more questions.

Cid's glasses seemed to twinkle again, and Naruto was vaguely reminded of a green wearing man he knew years ago, "A desire to learn and be the best that you can be are all that are required. If you look like you have the right stuff, then you start taking classes right away. Now, we normally start students off early in life, but exceptions can be made. For instance, should a potential student show signs of previous training."

"Okay old man, I'm tired of being coy. I'm not particularly sure how I ended up here, but if I am here then it probably means I am supposed to be here. I will join your little academy as long as you have three things." Naruto found a way, despite his bonds, to fold his hands on his chest.

Cid observed the strange blonde with an amused smile, "Oh, and what are these demands of yours?"

"Number one, I want a decent bed that doesn't have bed bugs. Two, there had best be ramen somewhere in this place to eat. Three, there had better not be an emo girly men wandering around looking down his nose at everyone else they meet." Naruto listed everything while counting each item on his fingers.

"The bed is no problem, and I think I can ask around to see if we can get ramen. About the… what did you call it… emo? I…"

"Yeah I figured there was a dick bag somewhere here. It's a school; there are always at least two or three dick bags in every school. I'll have to make due." Naruto said in a dramatic way while lifting a hand to his forehead to weep his sorrows.

Cid watched Naruto sit up, snapping the strong leather straps that had been used to keep the healing patient in place during his recovery. Cid felt the sweat bead up on his neck as Naruto flicked the restraints to the floor before ripping his bandages off. Naruto had been found a bloody mess on the roadside by several SeeD members that were returning from a mission abroad. His wounds ranged from torn muscles to burned skin. The resident doctor had spent hours patching up the blonde mystery boy and had assured that any recovery would take at least a month. When Naruto tore the bandages away, his skin was flawless without even a scar or blemish. The dried blood chipped off and fell away as he ran his hands over his chiseled chest. Cid tossed a set of standard Balamb Garden uniform at Naruto after the blonde had flushed upon discovering he was naked under his wrappings.

"I will need your name, date of birth, and weapon of choice to register you officially. Other personal information can be turned in later once you've had a chance to settle in." Cid assured the young man who was now dressing behind a privacy curtain.

"Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki, pleasure to meet you old man. Don't know the year, but I was born on October 10 and I am seventeen years old. My weapon of choice… I don't know, I will have to see what this place has to offer." Naruto called back casually while he slipped his pants on, relieved to be covered up at last.

After several minutes of rustling, and a moment of soft cursing, the privacy curtain was yanked back and Naruto walked out in full student gear. He was now wearing a pair of baggy navy blue pants with silver trim, a matching top with several pockets and zippers as well as two leather pauldrons, and a v-neck white t-shirt under the uniform jacket. He put on the boots he was given, but they just didn't feel right on his feet. He made a mental note to find a pair of combat sandals as soon as possible. He opted to zip his jacket up to the neck, avoiding the emo bad boy look at all cost. He stuck a hand in his left pocket and had his right hand rubbing sheepishly at his head.

"I feel like one of those pretty boys from those manga I used to read as a kid." He joked while laughing nervously.

Cid stood up and walked over to the boy. He looked him up and down slowly and then nodded while placing his fist on his palm, "You look fit for the academy. Your parents would be proud to see their boy looking like a fine young man."

"Yeah maybe my mother if she is watching over me. My dad… eh, he is probably busy where ever he is. I'm an orphan, but don't feel bad or anything, my parents died for me and that's the greatest gift someone can give." Naruto spoke softly, and added the afterthought to relax the man who had stiffened up uncomfortably upon hearing the news.

Cid visibly relaxed after hearing Naruto's heartfelt explanation. His eyes grew misty as he remembered something that Naruto wondered about, but would not intrude on his new headmaster's privacy.

"I think that you will fit in very well here, my dear boy. There are several other students here who have suffered similar circumstances. In a way, the Garden system is a work of genius that gives children a chance to become something great. For children who had been orphaned, this place becomes their home and their fellow students the family they would normally have been without. I have always done my absolute best for the futures of my charges, and you may look to me for anything that you need. My office is on the third floor, and I am normally free."

Naruto was rather impressed with the passion that the man seemed to emit while speaking. For all intents and purposes, Cid had no reason to trust Naruto. He also had no reason to care one way or another for the world hopper. Cid was clearly a man with a caring heart and a loving soul that had been looking out for others for a very long time. The old man reminded Naruto of the old Third Hokage from the village back home with his Will of Fire speeches.

"Now my boy, I will take you to meet one of our instructors, Miss Quistis Trepe. She teaches the fifteen through eighteen year age group everything they need to know to pass their exams and become our elite SeeD agents." Cid guided Naruto from the infirmary, the blonde waving casually toward the now gob smacked physician who stared at Naruto like he was some kind of ghost.

Cid noticed the small exchange and chuckled in a very fatherly tone, "You know, it might do well for you to explain why you aren't on death's door step considering not too long ago you looked like you'd been through some kind of meat grinder."

"That is complicated. I've always healed very quickly. Only near fatal wounds keep me down for longer than a day or two. It is something I was born with, so unfortunately I can't teach it to others." Naruto replied with a shrug as the two stepped out onto a mall bridge connecting the infirmary office hallway to a very large main hall.

Naruto took notice of all the strange technology around him. He found it odd that there was so much water located around the main entry hall, but he figured that the architect wanted a unique and charming atmosphere for the students studying here to feel relaxed and water was a very relaxing element. He took note of the large spire in the center that no doubt supported the upper floor as well as provided access to said floor. Cid took a right turn and walked along the circular walkway towards what Naruto guessed was the entrance. A large map was on display that Naruto knew would come in handy later on. A set of stairs led up to a set of elevators that Cid walked up to slowly, his hands behind his back in a casual manner. A soft ding sounded when the older gentleman pushed the button on the key pad.

"Old man, I erm… I am not so used to all this… technology. Will I get into any trouble if I get lost or confused by something strange?" Naruto asked while stepping into the round elevator with the old man Cid.

"Hm, I will see to it that the security personnel are made aware of your unique situation, as well as your instructor. We will be watching to make sure you don't use this as an excuse to skip classes of course." Cid warned, though his tone was amused rather than stern.

Naruto looked around as their elevator stopped to see a short bridge connecting the central column to the second floor hallway, "I suppose others have tried to skip classes around here as well?"

"You have no idea. The young people like to hide in the training ground during classes and after curfew. It amuses me that our security people haven't found their hideout, but far be it from me to comment on their work." Cid said in a cheerful tone that told Naruto the old man knew more than he let on.

The pair traveled down a circular hallway peppered with several doors. Naruto could see several classes in session with varying ages of students. It reminded him of his home and the shinobi academy where the student studied for four years. He felt a sudden nostalgia when he saw one of the instructors teaching a group of twelve year olds. The man looked to be in his mid twenties and had brown hair. Naruto chuckled thinking about the man he considered a big brother back home, the man who had never given up on him no matter how foolish he behaved in his act to be the class failure. Cid seemed to notice the glaze in Naruto's eyes, but he decided not to comment on it. He had his secrets, so he would let the young man have his as well. He just hoped those secrets wouldn't come back to bite him and endanger the students of Balamb Garden. The headmaster finally stopped at the end of the hallway where the last door was set into the wall about three inches. A key pad next to the door had multiple buttons in place for various purposes like locking, communication, and possibly a security override. While Cid rubbed his chin and examined the key pad for a moment while lifting his glasses off his nose, Naruto busied himself taking in his surroundings.

"Ah here it is. I swear these darn key pads need darker lettering…" Cid grumbled good naturedly before pressing a button and clearing his throat, "Excuse me, Quistis, may I steal you away from your lesson for a moment?"

A few moments later a beautiful feminine voice that Naruto thought sounded awful young to be a teacher responded, "Of course Headmaster Cid."

Cid stood back with his hands behind his back in a relaxed pose while he smiled at something private, Naruto put his hands in his pockets and bounced left and right on the balls of his feet to try and practice moving in his thick boots. When the door opened up two minutes later, Naruto looked over and was immediately forced to catch his balance as he was slightly taken aback. When one pictured teachers or instructors, one often pictured mildly pleasant looking people. Naruto comically pictured a grizzly older man with tons of muscles and scars teaching at a battle school. Instead, there stood an angel in human form that Naruto was sure would start spreading wings any second. Unlike the unrealistic beauty of the women back home in his village, this woman reminded him of the storybook princesses drawn on children's books. Her blonde hair shined in the light with every movement of her body, and was done up in the back in a cute pony tail, with two rather elegantly long bangs framing her face to fall down past her shoulders to her chest. She wore a pair of glasses that did nothing to hide her pretty blue eyes that twinkled with curiosity when she took in the sight of Naruto. The blonde knucklehead took only a moment to admire her shapely body, the curves of her modest bosom and hips hugged tightly by her instructor's uniform. Remembering to breath a moment later, he felt a bit sheepish having stared at her like an idiot. While he rubbed the back of his head and squinted his eyes shut to try and fight back the blush on his stupidly grinning face, Cid took pity on him by distracting the young lady.

"Quistis, how are you feeling today my dear?" Cid asked while smiling broadly.

Quistis regarded the headmaster with a warm smile before adjusting her glasses, a gesture that Naruto thought looked rather cute, "Very well today Headmaster Cid, the class is studying much harder with the exams a month away. If only I could get that fan club to join in the studying bandwagon."

Cid laughed heartily while watching his young instructor pout, "I did offer to transfer them over to Trabia last year when they held their SeeD exams so don't you go blaming me little miss 'I love troubled students.' But enough about the rest of your troublemakers, I have a new student that I would like to have attend your classes. His name is Naruto Uzumaki, he is seventeen, he has some experience in combat, but we are unaware of the extent of his training due to a bit of memory loss. For now he is eager to learn and has promised to be a well behaved student."

Naruto found Cid's woven lies to be both impressive and amusing. There was certainly more to this particular old man than met the eye, and he would keep his cerulean blues open around him. Understanding that as his cue to play the good boy, Naruto stood straight and bowed at the hip, keeping his face up to face Quistis, "Trepe-sensei, please make me strong!"

Cid and Quistis watched him wearing amused smiles, Quistis supporting a small tint of blush on her cheek bones as she spoke gently, "That's what I am here for Naruto, and I will do whatever it takes to make you and your classmates the best of the best."

Naruto leapt up and pumped his fist with a war cry of, "Yosh!"

"Good luck you two, I am expecting great things!" Cid called out as he walked off back towards the elevators at the other end of the hall.

The teacher and student duo watched the older man walk off before facing each other again. Naruto was still struck by how gorgeous his new sensei was, but he knew it was unbecoming to be love struck over a pretty face. With a cough into his fist to shake loose his nerves he let a foxy grin spread across his lips, "We better get in there sensei, before the other students think they can sneak off."

The blonde beauty smiled dazzlingly while her hand slide down her side to a rather vicious looking whip strapped to her belt, "Oh, they know better."

 _'_ _I am always attracted to the dangerous ones…'_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two is here! I was pretty inspired by all the follows I got as well as the favs and it spurred me on to see so many curious senpais! I tried to take some constructive criticisms to heart in this chapter. I wanted to make the references to Naruto's past clearer and I tried to slow down my pacing so that I could give each part of the chapter a less rushed feeling.**

 **I'm sorry that I upset a few people with the changes I made to canon. I had been under he impression that canon was already thoroughly explored… in canon. I decided to take the initiative and change things up a bit to better fit the story that I wanted to write. I would be more than happy to point everyone in the direction of plenty of fan fics out there that follow canon beautifully. I won't be upset with less readers if what I have done isn't to your liking. Cursing at me and calling my work trash, while amusing, is a waste of energy.**

 **To be clear on a few important details:**

 **-Kyuubi was positively influenced by a young Naruto who showed a level of purity and innocence that he hadn't seen in humanity before, and took pity on the little human. This led to Naruto becoming stronger much earlier, so that his eventual transition to Balamb Garden would happen at a time that was age appropriate for the school. Forgive me for not going the way others have by making them traumatized war buddies. If it makes you feel better, I didn't give Naruto any of his special forms that he got with all his hard work in canon! (proof is in the pudding, or rather, in the first chappie!)**

 **-I chose to speed up the Kyuubi friendship so that the two of them would be close before the need for Naruto's godly forms to be realized. Considering the story that I have planned, not only would learning those forms and abilities have been a waste, even if he kept them they would have been overly powerful, and I want to write a story with some depth and struggle. Naruto will be a strong mother trucker, just not strong enough to destroy a planet… yet?**

 **-Why Final Fantasy VIII? Because Final Fantasy VIII doesn't get enough love. It was a great game with realistic characters and an engaging story. I can see Naruto fitting in better with a school for mercenaries.**

 **-The Shinigami scene. I got a pretty harsh letter from not a fan-teme about how the Shinigami would never let anyone speak to them the way Naruto did. Consider what I just said. Shinigami would not let anyone speak to them in such a way. Why? Shinigami is a god, duh. So a God, a being of divinity, one of such an ascended position in existence… would allow the words of a mere mortal to effect her? Sort of like the sticks and stones saying. Words can't hurt Shinigami. And to be fair, if one reads properly (which I know is hard for a lot of people so I am trying to be understanding), one can see the Shinigami doing her best to keep her cool, so she is seething inside. Also, if you read further, Shinigami gets her revenge in a way by using her Zanpakuto to send Naruto to Gaia in the most painful way possible. Naruto acknowledges this and accepts it in a scene that I had intended to be humorous, as that would fit in with one of the two catagories this story falls under. Try to laugh instead of reimagine the characters that I have brought to life the way that you believe they ought to behave.**

 **-I love you all. Don't hurt me senpais.**

 **Official Warning!**

 **This story diverts from canon to tell its own story. Hit the back button if that is something that will ruin your supper.**

" **Big Mother Truckers Talking"**

' _ **Those same mother truckers be thinkin!'**_

* * *

There was a time when Naruto wondered how it felt to be part of a line-up, particularly when he was wanted for multiple counts of breaking into businesses to prank their owners as a pre-teen. He imagined staring at the one-way mirror while multiple accusers would pass their judgment on him, pointing fingers and calling for his doom. He imagined the sweat that would pour down his face while he fought off the anxiety and panic, knowing that any moment he would be sent to live with criminals. His elder brother Kyu can given him a little bit of training to help him deal with those high tension situations, but he had never truly felt it. Well… until now that is.

Naruto was standing at the front of a classroom that reminded him of the cryptography department back in his old village. The desks were lined in three columns of six rows. Small paths led down the sides and middle for students to find their seats. Judging by the current seating arrangements, two students could be seated at each desk. In all honesty, if the room had been designed with seats cascading upward toward the back, he would think he was back home, albeit a few thousand years in the future. Nearly every seat out of the total thirty six seats were filled with none of the seats near the front vacant. Normally that wouldn't bother Naruto since he preferred the back, but that meant that all of the eyes glued to him were practically in his damn face. His only saving grace was that most of the students at the front three desks were staring with rapt attention at his new instructor.

"Everyone, we have a new student joining us today. I want you all to welcome Naruto Uzumaki. Mister Uzumaki, if you would please tell us a little about yourself, then we can get started." Quistis smiled while placing the spotlight on the young blonde.

Naruto cursed internally when even more eyes had seemed to appear between heads of students further back. It was maddening to be the center of attention after so many years of being ignored in favor of pansy ass duck brains. It took all of his shinobi training with Kyu to maintain a steady gaze without shaking a bit. He didn't really understand why he felt such anxiety at that moment, but he figured it had something to do with being in unknown waters with no boat. Usually Kyu would be coaching him along with helpful hints or playful banter to help soften him up. The silence in his head was… unnerving.

"As Trepe-sensei just informed you, I am Naruto Uzumaki, but I prefer to be known as Uzumaki Naruto. I don't remember much about my home, but I do remember that surnames came first. I will answer to both though, so everyone can be comfortable speaking to me… I am seventeen, and this is my first time in a Garden. I like training, going for runs, and red bean soup. I hope that we can all learn well together and become strong." Naruto gave the room a bow, which judging by their reactions wasn't a very common gesture.

When Naruto lifted out of his bow, he saw a sea of curious eyes scrutinizing him with intensity. He had the strangest feeling that rivalry was a big issue at the Garden. Most, if not all, of the males wore calculating looks on their faces. The female students… were eyeing him up now that they had heard more about him. Naruto was grateful that his uniform was airy and made a size too big, otherwise he was sure they would be checking him out in detail. The only thing they could truly tell about him was that he was tall, and that his shoulders were properly proportioned for a swimmer's body. Quistis could tell that the room was making her new student a tad uncomfortable, so she stepped in to rescue him from the silent stares.

"Very good Mister Uzumaki, I am sure that everyone will be glad to have you join our lectures. Speaking of, before you can take your seat I think it would be important to teach you a little about what makes SeeD agents so much more effective than rank and file soldiers. Can anyone tell Mister Uzumaki what the most important tools of a SeeD agent are?" Quistis asked the room while stepping up to stand by Naruto's side to share the spotlight.

Several students put up their hands, but the one chosen to speak was a young woman with black hair near the middle of the right column of desks, "One of the most important tools a SeeD must have at all times is a reliable Guardian Force."

"That is correct. Guardian Forces are one of the most valuable resources on the planet. When bonded with a Guardian Force or GF for short, a SeeD can harness the natural energy of magic to not only cast spells, but enhance their physical and mental capabilities with the very spells that other soldiers squander on the battlefield. Now, can anyone tell me how we utilize GFs?" Quistis asked while attempting to keep up a serious teacher's tone and stance, though Naruto could easily see how uncomfortable the woman was with her role.

A male student with strawberry blonde hair near the front of the center column was selected and spoke with a proud smile, "We equip GFs through a method called Junction. Using our specially designed facilities here at the Garden, students can sync their nervous systems into their desk terminals to observe and manipulate our connections to any GFs who have deemed us worthy of their bond. Students aged sixteen and up are given Junction Watches so that they may manage their GFs on field exercises. SeeD are given a more advanced version of the Junction Watch that allows higher restricted functions."

"That is an excellent answer, well done Jones. When utilizing the Junction option, not only does it work to establish a connection with our GFs, it helps us strengthen our alignment with our GFs. Anyone with the knowledge can call out to a GF for assistance, but a truly strong bond with a GF can wipe out entire armies and make a person nigh invincible. Proper preparation and time are the foundation for a strong GF bond. Who can tell me how we can help strengthen the bond besides simply Junctioning our GFs? How about you, Lopez?" Quistis finished her bit and pointed to a tan skinned young man toward the center of the room.

The newly named Lopez seemed to stumble with his words at first, "W-we can… battle?"

"Don't be shy Lopez, you are correct. Battling is the fundamental method for strengthening the bond between SeeD and GF. Through each battle we gain experience, and with each attack our Junctioned GFs experience our battles. Through tireless work and effort we gain their approval and in return they reward us with strength, speed, special abilities and more. Now, besides the act of summoning a GF, tell me one of the most important basic skills a GF allows their SeeD to perform, Lopez." Quistis ordered, though her voice wasn't stern enough to really enforce her authority in Naruto's opinion.

Lopez seemed to think for a moment before giving himself a confident nod, "That would be the ability to Draw maim. Drawing is the act of siphoning magical energy from living organisms and converting it into magic. Depending on the organism drawn from, the magic may be anything from elemental spells to time space alteration magic, or even gravitational manipulation spells. With that magic, we can then Junction the raw magical energy into our bodies with the help of our GFs to make us much stronger."

"Excellent Lopez, that is exactly what I wanted to hear from one of my SeeD students. We mentioned it before as well that through GFs we could enhance our capabilities. Now we have discussed exactly how we do this. We have never quite understood how it all works, and we may never, but GFs have always been able to enhance our bodies in many ways. In Gardens we train our students in the how and the importance of Junctioning the right magical energies. What may be good to increase the swing of your weapon, may be better used to enhance the speed of your dodging. Experimenting with different configurations is paramount to your success.

My last question is this: how many GFs do we have here at Balamb Garden?"

Several hands shot up among the students in the first two rows, but Quistis had her eyes on the very back row, "How about you, mister Leonhart?"

Naruto followed Quistis' gaze toward the back row of the left most column and caught sight of a messy head of brown hair. The young man she picked perked up slowly, gazing toward the front with a set of dark eyes. Instead of the standard uniform, this rebellious teen wore what looked like a black leather jacket with fur trim, a pair of dark jeans, and black boots. Leaning on the side of his desk was a heavy looking wide bladed sword with a strange handle. While many of the students carried weapons that were easily noticeable on their backs or belts, it seemed like this man wanted to showcase his weapon a bit. Naruto was reminded of several swordsmen of legend that he read stories about and how often they would flaunt their weapons.

The brunette spoke after a moment of silent contemplation, "Balamb Garden hosts two GFs for students to learn with. We have Quezacotl, the Thunder Bird, and Shiva, the Ice Queen. Both are available, but most students choose only one due to their inexperience. SeeD candidates taking the field exams are rumored to have the opportunity to gain a third, but that information is classified… so naturally everyone knows about it."

Naruto heard the harsh tone the young man used when talking about the break in protocol and realized that he was very much like a young Kakashi had been. This boy sounded like a no nonsense by the books kind of guy, which Naruto wasn't exactly fond of, though it was way better than some emotional brooding avenger dill hole. Maybe this guy and Naruto could become friends if the stick in the mud could learn to have a little fun, but if that never happened then Naruto would at least be civil and work peacefully with him. Unless he turned into a dick. Dicks got pranked.

Naruto noticed a look that Quistis gave the young man, it was familiar to him but not because it had ever been sent his way. His curiosity was peaked, so he would file that information away for later. For now he listened as she spoke once again, "As expected from you, mister Leonhart. As most of you are aware, we normally allow access to GFs when our students reach the age of fifteen unless a student shows remarkable capability in their studies. Since mister Uzumaki is a new student over the age of fifteen, he is eligible for GF assignment. This gives us the perfect opportunity to review more of the basics of GFs and Junctioning."

Quistis walked over to the teacher's desk to rummage inside her bags leaving Naruto alone in front of the class. While he idled there, he watched the students working on their desks. Some were using the terminals built into their desks to work on something he couldn't see from his angle, while others were using… strange glowing floating terminals that hovered over their wrists. It was an incredible sight, seeing multiple glowing blue screens at several desks. He couldn't make heads nor tails of anything they were doing, but he figured it would be best not to intrude so he avoided using his chakra to enhance his eyes. Come to think of it he hadn't even had a chance to check if his chakra network was still working properly.

' _Not to self, find some place to test my abilities.'_

"Mister Uzumaki, please place this on your off hand wrist. This is what we call a Junction Watch. Because you haven't been fully entered into our systems yet this will be your only method of Junctioning. Once it is secured, you push the button on the side to activate it. You may feel a slight pinch of electric shock as it taps into your nervous system. This is a one time procedure, unless you are reckless and must have it replaced. Once the watch has synced into your system you only have to tap the smooth face of the watch to access the holographic interface." Quistis demonstrated by performing each action that she described for him. Naruto found his eyes lingering on the smooth exposed skin of her wrist while she gestured to each of the important physical features of her Junction Watch.

Naruto was able to eventually break free from his trance in order to equip his new watch. He had never found accessorizing an appealing concept, but once the damn thing was on he realized he looked real good with a watch on. He posed in several positions that emphasized his left wrist while several of the girls in class giggled behind their hands. Naruto wasn't bothered by the attention, and was even a little excited when he discovered his new sensei had joined the gaggle of gigglers. He flashed his foxy grin to everyone who had enjoyed the show before focusing back on his new watch. He found the button easily enough and tentatively pushed it in. Sure enough the small face of the watch shined brightly, and he waited for the pain. Instead of pain, he felt the watch probe into his chakra system. It reminded him of when Kyu would work on something or heal one of his wounds. He wondered why it would cause a shock or pain to others, but decided that his gift horse didn't need good teeth.

A flick of his finger brought up a small screen that dazzled his eyes with its brightness. It was like looking into a sealing matrix that had been set ablaze with chakra. That brought a memory of the pervert, and his brow twitched in annoyance. Shaking the vision of that toad faced bastard making kissy faces while sending his own student into limbo from his head, he focused more on the screen's contents. He found the menu and interface rather easy to navigate, and he had no trouble getting the ethereal buttons and icons to activate with a push of his finger. When he found the menu item labeled GFs he tapped into it to bring up the list of his available GFs. He was pleased to see two names already on the list.

"You already have two GFs?" A boy seated in the front row asked indignantly.

"What the heck is that GF?" Another student in the front asked following the first.

"Settle down you two, you know it is rude to observe someone else's information without permission." Quistis stepped in to stop the bandwagon before it rolled down the hill too far.

"Don't worry Trepe-sensei; I would be happy to answer their questions. First, yes I have two GFs, but it was a very random chance encounter that I can barely remember. I had no clue about any of this Junctioning before today. And secondly, this GF is the mighty Kyuubi no Kitsune, The Force of Nature. It says here that he is relatively unknown due to his very well guarded home. Unfortunately, I can't remember where I met him, but I must have impressed him a great deal." Naruto did his best to keep the pride he held for his elder brother hidden, lest people become even more suspicious.

The class erupted into hushed whispers while several sets of eyes looked at Naruto with doubt, suspicion, and even innocent curiosity. One particular set of dark eyes seemed to narrow and Naruto had a feeling that the young man Leonhart didn't trust him as far as he could throw him. Looking over at his instructor, he noticed that Quistis was searching her own Junction Watch for the information he had mentioned, though he suspected her frown was due to a lack of said information. He noticed her watch was different, its face a bit larger and the leather straps having small strips of steel like armor plates. Judging by what he saw, he decided that she must have the more advanced watch design mentioned earlier by his fellow student, the one reserved for SeeD agents. It all made sense considering the larger menus he saw her purusing as well as the added defensive armor plates.

"Mister Uzumaki… that is quite interesting. I will have to report this to the headmaster, so expect a summons to his office within the next twenty four hours. Don't be alarmed, you aren't in any kind of trouble. This new GF is something that we don't have registered in our data files, so we will need to gather what we can as soon as possible. This is unfortunately non-negotiable." Quistis was clearly attempting to sound authoritative again, and while this amused Naruto, he decided to play the good boy and not call her out.

"Yes Trepe-sensei, I will make sure that I am readily available for a meeting." Naruto replied with a foxy grin and a casual thumb up.

Before Quistis could respond the noon bell rang to signal lunch, and the entire room became abuzz with students preparing their bags to leave. Quistis sighed before walking back to her desk to send each of her students a reminder email about their independent study as well as the upcoming exams at the end of the month. It was a tedious gesture, but required by the curriculum of the school. Her students flooded the door to exit into the hall. Eventually the only students left were Naruto, who hadn't moved once since he entered the room, the young man in the back who seemed to have his head leaned over his desk, and a group of six younger students who were surrounding Quistis and causing the woman to flush lightly from their undeterred praise. Feeling a little uncomfortable with the fan club gathering around his instructor, Naruto decided to keep his questions he had for later and leave.

* * *

He hadn't taken more than half a dozen steps before he felt something, a sixth sense that Kyu had always called his ninja sense. Spinning around, Naruto caught the boy following him completely off guard. It was that same brunette from his class standing there with his odd sword strapped to his hip. Naruto found it odd that he kept such a sharp weapon on his side with no sheath, but he decided that he wouldn't second guess a swordsman considering he had no experience fighting with the weapons himself. The young man didn't seem to have any ill intent, so Naruto relaxed his tensed muscles and stuck a casual pose with his right hand on his hip and his left arm hung loose.

"Oi, you following me or something darky?" Naruto asked, finding the sudden indignant look on the boy's face rather hilarious.

The brunette crossed his arms and closed his eyes as he sighed, his bangs blowing in the breeze of his breath, "My name is Squall Leonhart, okay?"

"Whatever you say bro, but I gotta be honest with you, there is no way in hell I am calling you something like Squall. So, I think I will call you… Leon. Think you can handle that, darky?" Naruto asked while wearing a bored expression to hide his mirth.

Squall, or Leon now, scowled while his right brow twitched violently, "Whatever, anything but darky. Instructor Trepe requested that I show you around for the afternoon since classes are over for the day."

"Oh, a tour, that is just what I needed! I was going to be wandering around for hours trying to figure out where everything is." Naruto heaved a heavy sigh of relief that amused Leon a bit, even through his tough no nonsense shell.

Leon gestured toward the end of the hall and walked on with the blonde following behind him, "First we'll get some lunch, and then we'll hit the more important areas. If you don't have a dorm assigned yet, chances are we'll end up running into another student at some point that will be looking for you. Lower ranked SeeD members tend to work around the school in communications or as office aids. What I hear is the pay sucks, but its steady and there is the added bonus of increased survivability."

"You seem to know quite a bit of information that sounds like it ought to be confidential. Not many of your fellow students are as dedicated to this as you are. Care to share why?" Naruto asked while the two passed by several students playing some kind of card game.

Leon was silent until the two reached the elevator. When he hit the call button he leaned on the wall to wait and spoke emotionlessly, "No, not really."

Naruto sucked his teeth lightly at the very cold and bored reply he received from the stoic brunette. He didn't want to cause a fuss, otherwise he might have called him out for being a total emo bastard. The guy had all the makings of an Uchiha without the eye crutch to lean on. Naruto idly wondered if it was something about being born with dark hair colors that caused people to be born dick bags, but that would require further research. Instead of pushing the brunette for information, he decided to let it go with a pleasant grin and a wave of his hand, "Okay darky you can keep your secrets as long as you steer clear of mine. I saw you eyeing me up during class. Remember the old saying, 'Curiosity killed the nosy bastard.'"

Leon scowled but said nothing, though Naruto could tell he had something smart he was thinking. Truth be told, Naruto had purposefully used an incorrect version of the classic saying to mess with the guy. He wondered at first if this new world would even have the saying, but judging by that grimace he was safe to assume they did. Satisfied with his successful poking of the bear, Naruto happily walked into the elevator when the door slid open. Leon followed and hit the ground floor button. After walking off the elevator on the ground floor the two made their way to the Cafeteria. Naruto noticed the infirmary as they passed by where the good doctor was ushering in several wounded students with his kind smile. Naruto was sure to wave a friendly greeting to the doctor while they passed. Leon noticed this brief exchange but thought little of it.

"I see you are familiar with the Infirmary. The second passage we are passing leads to the Quad. Students spend free time out there relaxing in the shade of the trees, and there is supposed to be some kind of show or something… but I don't really care for those kinds of events. The Cafeteria is the next path up on our left. They serve a variety of foods, but their most popular menu item are their hotdogs." Leon spoke in a monotone while gesturing toward the passage ahead.

Naruto made note of all the information he was presented so he would know where things were for later. The Quad sounded like a great place to do his warm-ups, and the scent of fresh air that rushed passed them confirmed he would enjoy the outdoor area even more. He wasn't quite sure what hot dogs were, but being raised more or less by a giant fox, he had had his fair share of dog meat for survival training purposes. The idea that these people prepared dog meat with hot spices didn't sound appealing, but he would give just about anything a try at least once. His musings were interrupted suddenly when both he and Leon were shoved rather harshly aside by a blonde bullet flying down the hall.

"What the hell was that?" Naruto asked while rubbing his shoulder.

Leon sighed and palmed his face, "That was just an idiot. If we are getting there after him… we won't be getting any hot dogs today."

Naruto shrugged and kept walking at a casual pace with the walking anti social statue toward the Cafeteria. The Cafeteria was much larger than Naruto was expecting, but because he had never seen one before he guessed he shouldn't have been so hasty to imagine anything in the first place. The room was round with a serving area situated in the center that housed the kitchen. Two counters were set up to serve students so that the lines would move quickly. Naruto could see the mop of blonde that had practically dislocated his shoulder standing at the counter gesturing animatedly into the air. As they got closer he could just make out the argument that was currently under way.

"What do you mean I am too late?! The lunch bell just went off like, three minutes ago!" He screamed.

A stern looking older woman with a plump build and a pleasant face was looking anything but pleasant as she gestured a spatula toward him, "Its been ten minutes Mister Dincht and the other students arrived long before you did. Your yelling will not change the fact that you were too late. No more hot dogs are available today and we don't have enough to cook anymore! Now… you can have a salad, a soup, a toasted cheese sandwich, or all three for all I care, but you had better calm down or I will have to call the security staff!"

The blonde Dincht-head sighed in a defeated way that softened the glare the serving lady wore before he muttered out his apology and politely asked for the sandwich. She happily handed it over to the boy before relaxing against the counter to await further orders. Naruto watched the small exchange with a small smile. At first he thought little of the boy because he seemed like a total idiot, but it turned out he was just a bit of a hot head. He was a good guy who knew how to choose his battles and when to admit defeat. That kind of attitude would serve him well on the battlefield and Naruto had to begrudgingly admit that his fellow blonde reminded him of himself. Before he had been trained by Kyu to think and be patient, he was just as hot headed and easily irritated when he was denied something he had tried really hard to get. The way the blonde reacted to the lack of hot dogs was the way Naruto would react whenever his favorite ramen stand would have to turn him away because it was too close to closing to cook anything else.

Leon kept silent as he walked over to the counter and ordered a salad with a chowder bowl. When Naruto walked up he grinned widely and waved to the woman, "Yo auntie, my name is Naruto Uzumaki and I look forward to getting strong thanks to your healthy cookin!"

The older woman blinked at how she had been addressed, but she quickly recovered and smiled, "It is nice to meet you Naruto. We will do our best to keep your belly full and your strength up."

Naruto smiled brightly when he heard the kitchen staff behind the scenes cheer excitedly while one particularly zealous worker banged a spoon against a pan. He couldn't help laughing at the whole thing while rubbing the back of his neck. Both the ladies at the counter were beaming even as several students nearby watched on in confusion. Naruto had to wonder whether or not these students were trained to be robots, but then he remembered his own academy days. There had been plenty of students in his academy that had been quiet, attentive little automatons. The kids who stood out were the kids who eventually became some of the strongest ninja back home, and that caused his eyes to roam over to the sulking blonde sitting alone at one of the tables near the back.

"I would like to try one of your sandwiches please, and a bowl of this… chicken noodle soup. I haven't had much to eat in the past couple days and I am starving!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly to the now much more pleasant looking Cafeteria worker.

In a flash Naruto was presented with a tray set up with his order. A set of silverware was provided that Naruto remembered using only once while his old perverted master had dragged him into the palatial home of a minor nobleman. He found them awkward and wondered how anyone even ate properly, but he wouldn't complain. The kitchen staff was obviously given whatever they could afford to offer their students, and anything was better than your bare hands. With a grateful smile the former shinobi thanked the kindly lady and rejoined Leon who had been watching the entire thing with curious eyes. Naruto nudged him and gestured his head toward the blonde bullet.

Leon resisted for several moments, but no one can out stubborn a knucklehead.

"Yo, bro, that's a sweet tattoo man." Naruto said while putting his tray down and spinning a chair around to sit with his chest against the back rest. Leon sat quietly in his own seat a little away from the two loud mouths.

His fellow blonde looked up at him with confusion, but shrugged as he grinned widely, "You like? I got it last summer when I went to visit my mother back home. Boy was she pissed off, but I got it with my money that I earned doing side jobs. It hurt like hell, hah!"

Naruto enjoyed the boy's enthusiasm as it reminded him of not only himself, but that grin looked vicious like the one a certain dog boy used to wear, "I bet that shit hurt, its so close to your freaking eye! I got some ink too, got it when I was real young but somehow it hasn't warped with my growth."

Naruto stood up and unzipped his jacket so he could lift his undershirt up a bit. When his stomach was exposed his old seal was visible on his stomach. With Kyu out of his cage the seal had just become a regular tattoo that didn't require flowing chakra to see. The swirl in the center was intact, but several of the kanji locks had been warped into the kanji for 'broken.' Dincht whistled loudly while admiring the strange tattoo while several nearby female students were covering nose bleeds to hide their shame from staring at his rock hard abs.

"Fuck, now that is what I call a tattoo. What's your name guy?" Dincht asked while offering his hand in a friendly gesture.

Naruto let his shirt fall back down before he took the offered hand and shook firmly with a foxy grin, "I'm Naruto Uzumaki, pleasure to meet ya!"

"I'm Zell Dincht, martial artist extraordinaire and future savior of the world!" Zell exclaimed and fist pumped in order to flash his large arm muscles.

"Martial arts huh? Your energy reminds me of another guy I met once with the same enthusiasm. He was one of the best fighters I ever met. Too bad we never became friends, but after I met the guy too much was going on. We should spar sometime, I need to get a proper workout and you have the kind of spirit I admire in an opponent." Naruto tore the foil from his hot sandwich to start eating while conversing with Zell, noticing the spark in his fellow blonde's eyes at the word spar.

Zell grinned in a very smug way while cracking his knuckles, "I've never seen you around the school before today, so I am not surprised you would suggest something so crazy. You wouldn't be able to handle sparring with me, rookie."

Naruto shrugged while smiling, "Maybe you are right, but failure without trying is much worse than failure through experience. If you try your best and fail, you learn your limits and then you can work towards surpassing them. How about we have our spar today about an hour after lunch?"

"If you say so rookie, but I did warn ya! Meet up in the Quad. No magic or summoning allowed." Zell smirked after taking a large bite of his own sandwich.

The two shook on it while smiling, but were interrupted by a feminine voice nearby, "Excuse me, are one of you two Cadet Uzumaki?"

Both blondes and the quietly eating brunette looked around to see a rather fetching young woman wearing what Naruto could only assume was the SeeD uniform. Unlike the normal female uniforms for students, hers was much more formal with a knee length skirt, a more distinguished jacket that had no padded leather pauldrons, and a smart red tie that fell down over the jacket to show proudly in place of the less formal golden ribbon ties the students wore. Her almond shaped eyes and dark chocolate brown hair gave her a subtle beauty that Naruto had grown to appreciate after four long years of being surrounded by disproportioned plastic bimbos.

"Yo, that would be me pretty eyes-senpai. What can I do for ya?" Naruto asked while grinning at her.

She didn't choose to remark on his strange way of greeting her, though Naruto was sure there might have been at least a little blush on her stoic face, "I was requested to give you your assigned dorm room by Headmaster Cid. I have your keys and ID card here, the second of which will give you access to the library, training center, parking garage and security locker in your dorm room."

Naruto took the keys and card and put them away in his pockets before smiling, "Ah, thank you very much senpai. I hope this wasn't too much trouble for you."

"Not at all cadet, just train hard and do well on your exams and we will call it even." She replied before taking her leave, but not without glancing back at the blond whose jacket was still unzipped so his tight fitting undershirt was visible hugging his body. No one would notice the line of 'spilled ketchup' until much later when one of the security personnel slipped and broke their ankle.

"You should hurry and finish your lunch so we can finish up your tour; I need to be somewhere soon." Leon said quietly from his seat. His tray had been long since disposed of and he had taken to relaxing with his arms crossed.

Zell blinked and finally took notice of the third person at their table, "Who the hell is this guy?"

"Don't worry about him; he is just a bit uncomfortable with that stick so far up his ass that he doesn't talk much." Naruto said while innocently sipping the broth from his bowl of soup to finish up his meal.

Zell was a roaring mess of laughter while Leon took a deep breath before gently massaging his face with his palm muttering something about being surrounded by idiot slackers.

* * *

After lunch Leon took Naruto around the long way back tracking towards the entrance to continue the tour. Due to Naruto's lack of proper protection the two avoided going into the training center. Leon explained that while it sounded like a simple place to hone your skills, it was really more like a twisted petting zoo full of vicious monsters that allowed for battle practice in a controlled environment. Naruto imagined it would be similar to an indoor version of Training Ground 44 back home. The library had been skipped over as well because Naruto didn't have much time for reading before he had to get to his spar. He planned to visit later on and research a bit about his new home since the Shinigami had been too lazy to tell him much about it. Leon decided they didn't need to visit the parking garage because it was just a simple building full of cars used by the school to transport SeeD agents and students. Naruto had no idea what the hell a car was, so he would definitely be visiting on his own time to check things out for himself.

The tour ended after Leon escorted Naruto to the male dorm wing for regular students. The halls were very cozy and warm, giving the place a homey feeling. Naruto could smell the fresh air from the open air halls that led to the dorms, and he approved greatly. His room was located at the end of a hall way with six matching doors all numbered with Kanji marks that he was only vaguely familiar with. His own room was R5, and Leon silently thanked God that he would be far away from this strange blonde guy.

"This is your dorm room. Inside there is a common room where you will find a table, a recreation monitor with basic cable television, a cork board for notices that will often be posted by SeeD members working in the office, and a bathroom unit with a toilet, sink, and medicine cabinet. Your sleeping quarters is in the back, and will be marked with a black 1. Only your key and the master key the staff have will open your door so your room mate won't be getting into your bedroom. Each bedroom has a twin sized bed, a dresser, a desk, and a closet for your uniform and casual clothing. You will find a laundry chute built into the back wall that will take your clothes to be washed. Do not forget to pick up your own bundles of clothes at the laundry room down the hall from here. Full bathrooms with public showers and baths are also located down the hall, and are clearly marked by gender. Do. Not. Go. Into. The. Girl's. Washroom." Leon finished his speech with more emotion than he had shown since the two had officially met.

"How do we know which bundles of clothes are ours?" Naruto asked, ignoring the obvious accusation that he was a pervert.

Leon sighed as if this were the most basic thing, "The chutes lead to bins down below that are replaced each day. If you have any laundry in your bin it is sent down to the laundry room where every Friday the laundry is washed. No matter how big or small your bundle is, it will be washed and wrapped in brown paper, and then labeled with your room number. For you it will be… R5-1."

Naruto nodded before remembering something, "Where is the security locker located?"

"It's built into the wall at the foot of your bed. Slide the card once through the scanner and then type in a code of eight numbers. When you hear a beep, slide the card through a second time and test the number. If it worked the door will open, if not then you will have to speak to Headmaster Cid." Leon droned on while keeping his eyes shut and crossing his arms in a bored pose.

"Ya know darky, I can easily tell you would rather have done anything else today, so I appreciate you putting up with this tour to help me out. I owe ya one, so if you ever need a hand with something let me know. It can literally be anything short of a sexual favor… unless you need me to distract a hottie because you're not in the mood." Naruto spoke with an amused grin in place while offering his hand in friendship.

Leon stared at the blonde for a long moment, and then sighed before walking off leaving Naruto hanging. The ex shinobi sucked his teeth annoyed before entering his new dorm and looking around. The walls were a pleasant autumn color that was just orange enough to please him. The table was clear and the chairs were pushed in neatly. There was clearly another student who used the space considering a few decorations that seemed out of place. Naruto looked into the bathroom and saw a small bag of personal toiletries set on the counter space by the sink. The door labeled 2 was secured and had a picture of a dog taped to it. All in all, Naruto was content to share the space with whoever this person was, even if they never met.

Using the second key on his key ring he opened the door to his bedroom and felt a sense of nostalgia. It was small and cramped just like his old apartment had been. The bed was much nicer looking and all the other furniture wasn't falling apart, and Naruto was eternally grateful for that. He tested the bed and found the mattress firm, yet comfortable with no odd bumps or sharp springs threatening to give him tetanus. The sheets smelled like fresh linen in a summer breeze, and the room was filled with the scent. He found the desk and noted the lamp which provided a decent amount of light to that portion of the room. The dresser stood near the desk and he discovered several sets of clean under clothes. He was amused that most of the under pants were tastefully printed with foxes, and he wondered how the hell such a coincidence was possible. He didn't notice his watch pulse faintly while he closed the drawers tight.

Naruto eventually found the special security locker located at the foot of his bed. It was a simple thing, about the size of an average milk crate. Naruto wondered what people would usually store in something this size, but realized his confusion when he considered the fact that as an orphan he had never owned anything important enough to protect. He slid the card through and saw the number pad come to life with faint green light. He took a moment to figure out what numbers he would use and then typed them in slowly.

"Jiji…69…. Dad…24…. Mom…24…. Kyu…09."

A soft beep followed right after the last number was punched in. Naruto smiled and quickly repeated the process to confirm that he had done it correctly. When his finger hit the nine he heard a resounding click, as well as the sound of metal sliding against metal. The small door popped open and he checked the inside to see how deep it went. He was surprised when instead of empty space he found a single scroll with a wax seal pressed in the shape of a fox. He wasn't quite sure what to think of it, so he quickly attempted to dispel any illusions he might be under. None of the methods he used had any effect on his surroundings and he couldn't find any hints of traps. With a shaky hand he reached in and took hold of the scroll. When nothing happened, he sighed in relief and removed it from the dark metal box.

"Okay, lets see what the hell this is then…" Naruto grumbled before breaking the wax and unrolling the parchment slowly. The first few inches were a message which he read through slowly after taking a seat at his desk.

 _Naruto,_

 _Well done little brother, sister Shiva informed me that you found your way into a den of her summoners. It was with her help that I was able to get this to you, though it was rather funny watching her try to avoid detection. A beauty she may be, but she is definitely not subtle. I have found a new home on an island of despicable monsters the likes of which I have never seen before. They worship me, can you believe that shit? I won't say the name of the place for now because I don't want this information leaking. Suffice to say, I am having a 'hell' of a time. I even have a dinosaur for a butler!_

 _Anyway ya knucklehead, I miss you like crazy. Shiva said that we would all be able to hook up after you have settled down and have time to meditate. I mentioned that I missed being able to communicate with you through the mindscape, and she got pretty curious about it. Turns out it still exists! I'll explain more when you have time to meditate. Shiva said she can't wait to speak to you and she has someone for you to meet too. Came as quite a shock to me when I met him, but we are passed that and he's my bro now. These two won't shut up about you, and they keep asking all of these questions that I am not sure if I should answer. Your past is yours little brother, I promise I won't spill the red beans._

 _Anyway, I'm rambling; let me get back to why I am sending you this scroll. Inside you will find seals containing a collection of ninja tools to help you get started. The quality is pretty low, but Shiva added some kind of… book? She called it a magazine, and inside are a collection of schematics for weapons of this world that you can take to special blacksmiths in most towns. She said it was a welcome gift, and if you wanted more you would have to keep your eyes open. She is cryptic as fuck bro, just a warning._

 _Also… Junction me you dick! I felt it when you registered me and Shiva, but you forgot to Junction us. Shiva was so irritated, but I reminded her that you were new to this and she calmed down. The sooner you do, the better, otherwise you won't get all the sweet benefits of having the blessings of the mightiest GF in the world, bwahaha!_

 _Love, Foxy Bro_

 _P.S. The underwear was my idea. Gotta represent, homie. Fox boys for life._

Naruto was rubbing his nose gently after having read the final note of the letter. A smile was plastered goofily across his face, even as his eyes glazed over a little. He hadn't thought about Kyu much since things got started earlier, and he had forgotten how much he actually missed hearing the big idiot snoring or laughing at him all the time. Judging by the letter he would soon have that feeling of never being alone back again. Loneliness was something every orphan knew and feared above all else. After recovering and cleaning his eyes he placed the scroll down on the desk so that he could unroll it further. The storage seals appeared soon and were conveniently labeled for him.

Starting from the top, Naruto found several tool pouches and rolls of ninja bandages. These would serve him well once he started his training. Tallying up everything he had three belt pouches like the one he used to have strapped to his back. There were ten kunai holsters all colored black with storage seals to store spare kunai in case he ran out of readily available weapons during an extended fight. The ninja bandages were tightly wrapped in three rolls for easy measuring. These would work well for comfortable padding, securing loose clothing, and dressing wounds if no other first aid were available. Naruto placed one roll, two kunai holsters, and one tool pouch aside before resealing the spares away for safe keeping.

The next two seals were Kunai and Shuriken numbering a thousand each. Naruto was impressed by the number, but he wondered just how his brother had been able to find these weapons. It wasn't farfetched to think that the world he was in might have people who used these kinds of weapons, but he had yet to see anyone wearing them. Perhaps he'd made them? That was not really possible considering Kyu had never had any kind of creation ability. Strong godly power? Yes. The ability to topple mountains and boil oceans? Yes. The ability to craft perfect Kunai and Shuriken? Not a chance in hell. After unsealing a hundred of both throwing tools, he piled them up on his bed to be organized later and moved on.

The final seal was marked as containing 'gear,' but that was a very vague description. He unsealed the contents and coughed when a cloud of dust filled his room. When he had waved enough of the cloud away he was shocked to find a set of ninja clothes, complete with armored ninja sandals.

' _Thank Kami!'_

Considering he had to head out to the spar in a few he put the clothes away, sans sandals, and then changed his shoes immediately. It was refreshing to feel the warm air touch his skin again, his toes curling in delight. How civilians and soldiers could ever handle wearing those clunky leather atrocities was beyond him. Using a few meters of bandages he was able to tie up his loose pant legs so that he wouldn't trip while moving around. He took a few experimental steps around the room, and threw a few kicks with each foot. Satisfied with his work, he set about equipping his ninja pouch using loops to fasten it to his belt. Inside the pouch were small pockets of flash and smoke pellets, a single roll of ninja wire, and a few dozen exploding tags of various strengths. He added a handful of Kunai to his pouch, and a dozen to his holster before sealing the rest into the emergency storage seal inside the holster. Once the sealing was complete, Naruto strapped the holster to his right leg with more of the bandages for comfort.

The true challenge was trying to decide where to store his Shuriken. He didn't have any chakra infused ink to create any new seals, so that was a no go. He double checked all of the equipment in his tool pouch and sighed, not feeling sure of what to do. Eventually he decided to use a second storage seal in his tool pouch to store the deadly steel stars, which he did begrudgingly. If he used his spare holster for throwing stars it would be difficult to pull them out quickly without cutting his hands; he was confident, not crazy. In the end he knew this was the better of two evils, and besides that he rarely used throwing stars anyway.

Feeling adequately well equipped for a simple spar, he put his master scroll back into his security locker and left his dorm. The afternoon sun shining through the windows looked to be at about 1:20 pm, if the sun followed the same path it did in the Elemental Nations. He decided to jog over to the Quad since he knew he might be a few minutes late already based on his sense of time. Passing several students, he noticed most of them give him odd looks, or more specifically they gave his new equipment strange looks. He merely smiled and winked at anyone who stared too long. Passing the Cafeteria he could smell something very delicious being prepared for the dinner crowd and he couldn't wait to see what it was. His jog came to an end as he found himself exiting the hall way to the Quad out into what he considered a multi-level park.

* * *

The Quad was a very large outdoor area for relaxation and public events. The many levels of the Quad were connected by sets of stairs ranging from ten steps to twenty at the most. Every level was set up in rough squares and peppered with trees and benches. The lowest platform in the area was the largest, and it clearly served as a gathering place with rows of seating that cascaded upward to support at least a hundred or so. The seating was fashioned into a half circle with a stage at its epicenter. After taking in the sights from his position by the Garden entrance, Naruto found Zell waiting patiently on one of the lower platforms near the edge of the Garden where fences were built to ward off wandering monsters.

"Yo rookie, get that ass moving!" Zell called out when he saw Naruto standing like a lump on a log.

The ex shinobi chuckled at the enthusiastic grin he saw on the martial artist and he was about to head over at a jog, but then he decided to test the limits of his chakra control in this new world. Taking a moment to focus with his eyes shut, Naruto pushed a small bit of chakra to his legs which caused the grass nearby to wave in the breeze, as well as dust to lift from the cracks of the path beneath his feet. He crouched down and then kicked off hard to leap into the air. He knew he had succeeded in his chakra enhanced jump as he felt the wind rush through his messy hair. Opening his eyes Naruto saw the land moving beneath him and spread his arms wide while angling back toward the ground. Using acrobatic grace trained into him over years of hard work he flipped his body in a summersault before landing in another crouch to cushion his landing. Standing two feet from him, Zell was as still as a statue. Naruto stood up and dusted off his pants before looking up and noticing the strange look. Sensing more eyes on him, he looked around to see several other students staring wide eyed and gaping. Naruto had the wherewithal to know he should try to play this off, so he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly while laughing.

"Uhh… so, about this spar…" Naruto said slowly.

Zell chose that moment to come back to earth and he shook his head like a dog, "W-what the hell was that, bro?! You just leapt like… I don't even know how far! That was insane! You gotta teach me that move!"

By the time Zell had finished screaming he had Naruto held by the collar shaking him back and forth dramatically, but as Zell became more violent in his enthusiasm Naruto suddenly exploded into a burst of smoke and Zell found a wood log in his hands. The scream that filled the Quad would never be forgotten from that day forward. As Zell stood over ten feet away from the log that had once been a person he held his chest and tried to quell his anxiety attack. Naruto's laughter filled the area as he stepped out from behind the tree he had just used a piece of to substitute, holding a branch full of leaves that would otherwise have fallen to the ground without the thicker portion of the branch he had just used.

"Ok now that the pranks are over, how about we fight with our fists like you intended, big guy?" Naruto asked innocently.

Zell looked confused and a bit put out, but recovered and fist pumped and shook from the strain he put on the muscles to flex menacingly, "You little punk, I am gonna slap that smug look off your face, and when I win you will show me how you did that!"

"Okay well how about I give you the first punch?" Naruto cracked his neck swiftly and then crossed his arms to strike a relaxed pose. Anyone looking hard enough would see how tensed he was, ready for anything.

Zell growled under his breath and let his training take over. Dashing forward he sent a swift and powerful right straight toward Naruto's face. For Naruto, the attack happened practically in slow motion. Two years of fighting against that perverted sage to increase his hand-to-hand proficiency had helped him understand how to identify incoming attacks by watching his opponents eyes, muscles, and foot work. The academy had taught the students about trying not to broadcast their intent, but the idiots working there had never gone that extra mile to demonstrate what they meant. Kyu had tried to explain it as well, but he always made it clear that sparring was the only method to train against broadcasting your next move and feinting properly to confuse your opponent. He could tell that Zell Dincht was a good fighter by his form, but he had a long way to go before he would be a legend.

Naruto let his head tilt left with the grace of a dancer and felt the breeze of the fist soar past his ear. Not wanting to use force yet, the shinobi used the weight of his head to let his body curl a moment before pivoting around to shove Zell's back with enough force to cause the young man to stumble a few steps. By the time Zell had managed to regain his footing he turned to see Naruto with his arms at his sides and his body turned so that he reduced the size of his body, narrowing his opponent's area of attack. Naruto noticed Zell take a moment to calm himself and smiled.

"Good, I want you to take this seriously. Now this time come at me with the intent to kick my ass. For now I am on the defensive." Naruto said calmly, no hint of teasing or provocation.

The two stared at each other for a few moments analyzing the other's stance and looking for weaknesses. In the blink of an eye Zell was rushing toward Naruto, but the ex shinobi could see that his sparring partner's steps were much more calculated, and while his speed was high, he was digging his heels in for balance with each step. When Zell threw a feinted right straight, Naruto was forced to block the sudden left hook with his open palm. Zell smirked knowing that his enhanced punch would catch the show off by surprise. Many of his fellow students underestimated him because he fought with fist and foot rather than swords and while and obvious weapons. In truth, Zell used a very powerful weapon to enhance his physical strikes: metal infused gloves. Even with his basic iron infused metal knuckles he could easily total a brick wall with one solid punch. With this one blow he knew Naruto would be feeling it for a while.

His confidence shattered when he felt four fingers and a thumb wrap around his fist slowly and then tighten. Naruto peaked around their conjoined hands and smiled. Zell flinched, and yanked his fist to free it from his enemy's grip. To his utter surprise his fist didn't move and inch, not even to yank Naruto toward him. Just what the hell was going on with this rookie?

"Your form is good; you have a lot of potential. You just need more experience in the field against human fighters." Naruto said in a tone that his brother used often while trying not to discourage him during a criticism.

Zell remained calm and pulled back once his fist was released. He felt no pain in his hand even though the grip had been iron clad. Taking up another stance he hopped up and down on the balls of his feet to gain a bit of momentum. Naruto saw this and took a proper stance with his left hand held up towards Zell with the palm facing to the right. His right hand came up to hover near his chest, guarding his core while being ready for counter attacks. His legs bent slightly to maintain balance while he kept his body turned so that he took up as little space as possible in his opponents field of vision.

Zell surged forward in a flurry of fast and well aimed punches that lacked the power of his last few berserker strikes. Naruto was reminded of his spars with his old team mate when he was still pretending to be a fool. He had always pretended to be a strength fighter, a brawler with no form or style. His team mate had fought with a disciplined and speedy style that complimented his special eyes. Fighting against that while maintaining his ridiculous persona, holding back while having to take a bunch of shit for it… it was a real pain in the ass. Kakashi had always reminded him that it was his choice to hold back, but that didn't make taking shit from his team mate any less annoying. Now though, as he deflected and dodged each of Zell's attacks… it was actually fun. This is how he had always wanted to fight his team mate: no holding back.

Zell leapt up to deliver a powerful kick to Naruto's head, hoping to catch him by surprise with his speed. The kick was dodged when Naruto ducked under the fast moving leg. In a move that Zell barely saw, Naruto grabbed Zell's leg tight to his shoulder while throwing him down on his back. Zell yelped out in pain as he felt the breath leave his lungs. With lights dancing in his vision, he saw Naruto lean over him. He hadn't even realized the rookie had let go of his leg, even as it lay on the ground in the soft grass.

"Again, I am impressed with your form. That kick was executed with such precision, I feel bad for anyone who gets hit by it. What you lack is speed, but that can easily be worked on with weight and resistance training. I also recommend you try and increase your flexibility. Your attacks are too stiff and mechanical. Try Junctioning the proper magic into your speed and evasion stats as well, instead of your strength. With those arm cannons you don't need anymore power." Naruto finished his lecture and helped Zell to his feet before dusting him off.

"Man, I haven't seen anyone as fast as you. Do you think I might be able to gain speed like yours?" Zell asked while scratching his upper back in much the same position Naruto used to rub the back of his head.

Naruto thought on it a bit and smiled, "We'll just have to try and see, yeah? For now, keep coming at me. I want to see you use that brain of yours to come up with strategies on the fly. The greatest weapon on the battle field is deception. Keep your opponent confused and second guessing until you have them on the ground."

Zell looked down at the ground while thinking on what he'd just experienced, what he had learned, and he clenched his fists. In less than a month he would be taking his exam to join SeeD, and he had felt pretty confident. Now, he knew he had a lot more to learn if a rookie had been able to take him down. Looking up with a determined gleam in his eyes, he fist pumped while flexing all of his upper body.

"Right, I am going to train hard, and I will surpass my grandfather and make my family proud!"

With that declaration, Naruto sparred with Zell until they both were forced to go to their dorms after curfew that night. The students of Balamb Garden would talk about the strange sparring match between two loud blondes for years to come.

* * *

 **The spar was probably a bit brief for people who wanted a long fight. Sorry to disappoint, but there was no reason for anyone to go all out in the Quad. I will admit that I am inexperienced with writing fights, so actual advice would be appreciated. Future fights will be much longer, much more involved, and the eventual boss battles will be epic. This was just a non magic spar, so let your flames of youth cool down.**

 **Actual questions and concerns will be addressed at the beginnings of chapters like this one. Flames may also be discussed if I think that the issue is worth it for everyone'e benefit.**

 **Love you senpais!**


	3. Chapter 3

Dorm room R5 was a place that most students of Balamb Garden knew to avoid at all cost. There was no curse or foul smell, no scary story or dangerous rumor. R5 was a gathering place for three of the academy's most notorious students, the self-proclaimed Disciplinary Squad. Said trio of trouble seekers were currently gathered around the common room table in R5 having some hot tea. Their leader was an enigmatic bad boy who quite often played the villain. His smoothed back blonde hair with a single lock shined in all its platinum glory to downplay every sneer he sent at those nearby. He wore a rather form fitting black suit beneath an open tan trench coat with black boots that seemed to clack much louder than any other boots anyone had ever heard, as if he were the embodiment of danger so potent that even his walk warned of misfortune. Leaning by his side against the table was another of those strange swords with the odd handles. The blade was thin and long, focusing more on speed and accuracy than some of the heavier models centered on the strength of each swing.

His two cronies sat across from him, their backs to the entry door of the outer hallway. His muscle came in the form of a taller and more muscular male that sat with his eyes closed near the wall that the table was set against. This young man had buzz cut raven hair and dark skin with a set of dark brown eyes that were usually taking in everything around him. He wore a blue vest that was left open to reveal a rather odd ring of beads around his neck just above his super cut chest and abs. A single pauldron with wicked looking spikes and dents from combat adorns his right shoulder. A red obi styled belt was tied tightly around his waist to hold up baggy black pants above a set of half calf black military boots. Leaning on the wall within arm's reach was his staff that usually rested on his back, a head shorter than his body from head to toe. Each end of the staff resembled a baseball back, and promised pain with each strike.

Beside him was the soul female member of their motley crew, though no one would be stupid enough to underestimate her. Her hair was short and chopped, colored silver as if to match the mature woman that she was on the inside, despite her young body. From head to toe she wore a neatly pressed, slightly customized uniform that intimidated most of those she passed by. Over her left eye she had a leather patch, though no one was sure if she truly suffered an eye would to warrant its use. On her right shoulder she wore a similar pauldron to her partner in crime, though that was where their similarities ended. She was normally very stoic and strict, giving no quarter and no mercy to her enemies. Many often wondered why she was so cold, but no one was brave enough to ask for fear of her chakram disemboweling them. The elegant and deadly blue weapon resembled the waves of the ocean as it hung from her belt in its collapsed circular form. With the flick of a wrist several razor sharp curved blades would engage from the primary circle that would slice through most armor.

The silence between them was broken by the larger male, "So… when did your new roomie leave this morning, Seifer?"

The blonde scowled at his Junction Watch to check the time, "Hell if I know, maybe four this morning? I didn't even hear him leaving until the front door closed behind him. They didn't even give me a heads up that this guy would be moving in! The last guy was a total lawless idiot who was constantly breaking rules. Good riddance."

"FAILURE!" The female said in a single loud outburst that normal people would have leapt at.

The large dark skinned male chuckled, "Yeah Fujin, you right. That fool was a failure, ya know?"

Clearly annoyed by his redundant remark, Fujin stomped her toe on his foot under the table, "RAIJIN! ORIGINALITY!"

The blond named Seifer smirked while observing his two friends' strange antics. These two were the only students at the Garden who could take a licking from him and keep ticking. Raijin was the strongest, and Fujin had the smarts that got them out of tough spots, but neither of them was a good leader. Seifer was all too willing to fill that role, and in his eyes he was damn good at it. Through thick and thin, every time the three of them were in a jam, he would lead them out. Come hell, high water, an army, whatever, he would take it all on and lead his team to victory. The damn Garden was holding him back from SeeD because of their ridiculous rules and standards that he supposedly couldn't match. He was fucking Seifer Almasy for crying out loud! No one was as skilled, as courageous, as cunning, or as damn fine as he was. He even had a super hot long distance girl friend, something most couldn't begin to attempt! And she was the daughter of a very important guy too! Yes, it was damn good to be Seifer…

…However, everyone seemed to ignore him in his age group in favor of that bastard. Every time he decided to attend class he had to sit near that reject. The messy brown hair was so annoying, his complete lack of fashion sense drove him crazy, and that absurd sword of his was like a giant paring knife! That damn stoic robot bastard was the teacher's pet and he didn't even know it. While he stares at his desk during class that dumb blonde instructor can't keep her eyes off of him long enough to finish a lecture. Headmaster Cid was always keeping his damned eyes on him too, never regarding Seifer with the same approving glances.

Scowling, Seifer had absently taken hold of his sword and been tapping the length of the blade against his knee. After years of being around their blonde leader, both Raijin and Fujin went silent. When Seifer was irritable, someone usually ended up bleeding. This would of course be the worst time for something unexpected to happen to ruin the quiet calm in the room.

The dorm door opened then rather suddenly causing everyone to jump, "Wow, that run felt so good!"

"Who the hell are you?!" Seifer jumped out of his seat while jabbing his sword in the direction of the door at the sunny blonde male now staring at them oddly.

The new male in question was of course his new roommate Uzumaki Naruto, ex shinobi of the Elemental Nations, and currently a topless stud dripping with sweat from his morning workout routine. The plain white t-shirt that he had worn out was draped over his shoulders like a wet towel. All he had on were pair of ash grey sweat pants with the Balamb Garden logo emblazoned on his right thigh, a pair of his new fox print boxer shorts peeking out from the elastic waist band, and his ninja sandals. His face was neutral for a moment, eyes narrowed in a relaxed expression, before his face suddenly lit up with a hundred watt smile.

"Yo, one of you must be my new roomie! Gotta be one of the guys, so who is it fellas?" Naruto asked while walking over to the table, completely ignoring the sword trained on him the entire time.

Raijin was watching from his place to the side with a slightly amused grin on his face. He knew that his calves would be solid bruises by the end of the day for his unprofessional actions, but the look Fujin had on her face was priceless. Said young woman was staring holes through Naruto while following him like a studio camera. Her pupils seemed to have dilated, and she was sweating bullets. Her taller counterpart couldn't contain his mirth and eventually snorted which broke the tension like a mirror shattering in a library.

The first thing to happen was Fujin standing up and unleashing a kick at Raijin's shin to hard that he flipped forward, chair and all, to face plant the floor. He screamed like a woman and caused both blondes to wince in sympathy.

Fujin then turned toward the shirtless blond with her short silver hair shadowing her one visible eye, "…"

Naruto felt nervous and laughed sheepishly while lifting an arm up to rub the back of his head, inadvertently flexing a great deal of his body, "Uhh… did I do something wrong?"

"…"

"I'm… just going to go… and leave you three to it. Sorry for… whatever this was." Naruto pulled a strategic withdrawal while backing up to his door and using his key to unlock it before vanishing behind it again.

"That was more interesting than I thought it would be…" Seifer mumbled quietly while fastening his sword to his belt, "Let's get a move on you two, no point slacking off when there are rookies to tor- I mean… properly discipline. I'll introduce that rookie in there to our group once Fujin can get her nosebleed under control. And for God's sake Raijin, get your ass up off the floor that's embarrassing."

Seifer left the common room with Fujin following behind silently, Raijin dragging across the floor while being pulled by the young woman. Pieces of his dark face were smeared across the floor in a bloody trail of shame and pain. Meanwhile Naruto had been changing into a clean set of underclothes after using a towel to dry his body off. He took a clean uniform out of his closet to dress into and lay it on the neatly made bed that he had passed out on the night before. He would have worn the uniform from the day before, but the spar had torn several holes into his pants and jacket. Zell had quickly gotten better over time and Naruto had been on the defensive for the final half hour of the spar. When the security personnel had arrived to end their rule breaking, the pair had been sprawled out in the grass laughing about something that he couldn't even remember.

Of the several people that Naruto had met during his first day at Balamb, he found Zell to be the most sociable. Whether it was his open personality, his genuine desire to grow strong for others, or his damn impressive tenacity, Naruto couldn't decide. He did know that should the both of them ever become SeeD members, he would want to be teamed with the hyper active show boater brawler. He also couldn't wait to meet the guy's mother, who he heard was an excellent cook. On the other side of this was his acquaintance Leon, the brooding party pooper. The sword user had the potential to be friendly; he could see it in those eyes for just a moment the day before. Regardless of his faults, he was dutiful, which is admirable even if it isn't Naruto's particular style. Due to his time with Kakashi, he appreciated getting lost from time to time and being a little late every now and again.

* * *

Naruto heard the common room door shut and knew it was safe to visit the small bathroom outside, so he grabbed a wash rag and a small bar of soap to clean away the sweat from his workout. He hadn't had a proper bathing yet after sparing the entire afternoon the day before, and again after his workout he opted out of a full washing due to time constraints. He would manage his time better as he settled into routine, but for now he would have to rely on quick solutions. In no time at all the knucklehead was finished washing his upper body and various other key areas, happy to be smelling a little better than before. With his body washed and a little time to spare before classes, he decided to skip breakfast and head to the Library for some independent study.

Naruto dressed in only his uniform, securing his sandals with bandages once again, and left his tool bags in the safety of his security locker. He noticed the scroll in his locker and silently cursed when he remembered Kyu asking… well demanding, that he Junction both him and Shiva as soon as possible. In his haste to get to the spar the day before Naruto had completely forgotten about it and he knew that when he finally took the time to meditate he would get an earful. He secured the locker and made sure it was sealed tight before he left the dorm room heading for the central lobby area. Once again the ex ninja took notice of all the calm water accenting the paths and he smiled. He imagined that ninja from the Mist village would have found this place very appealing. The Mist… he remembered two people that he had met once from that cursed village and it brought him down. He hurried along quickly to distract himself from his bad memories.

The Library had been more impressive than he had anticipated. Much like the other portions of the Garden, the Library was large with high ceilings and circular design. There were two levels with stairwells made of wrought iron and oak wood that led up and down between them. The ground level was organized in neat rows of book cases, and the outer wall was equipped with desks for research and privacy. There were dozens of signs with warnings to remain quiet and to keep the books clean and organized posted on bookcases and several stretches of blank wall. The only sign of life in the Library was a sleepy looking young female student behind the desk, clearly the early shift worker who volunteered for afternoon classes.

Naruto walked over to the front desk and leaned lightly against the high counter top with his arms crossed over the surface of the smooth wood, "Morning."

His cheerful voice seemed to startle the young girl who jumped a little before looking at him, blinking rapidly while a slight blush crept up onto her pale cheeks, "G-good morning. How may I help you?"

Naruto didn't understand why he got that reaction out of the women of this world, perhaps he would have back home if he hadn't had such a bad reputation, regardless he kind of enjoyed the change, "Yes I would love some help. I am new around the Garden so I am not sure where things are. Could you point me towards the History section of the Library? I will also need a good book on Guardian Force history if you have any recommendations."

The young lady perked up at the prospect of offering assistance with the books that she cared for on a daily basis, "Of course, no problem! The General World History section is here on the first floor. Just go down the first aisle until you get to the shelf labeled GH001. From there, the next three bookshelves back all cover general history of the world as well as a few more local works that cover the history of Balamb and the construction of the trans-oceanic railway. As for GF history, there is only one book I can recommend, but it is currently rented out at the moment."

Naruto was about to reply until a very familiar and pleasant voice cut him off, "Mister Uzumaki, I believe she was going to suggest this book here."

Naruto turned and was unsurprised to see Quistis Trepe, his new instructor, standing behind him with her hands folded over a book that was hanging down in front of her waist. She offered him a friendly smile before lifting the book to her chest where he could see the title just barely over her lithe arms. In large golden letters the book read _A History of Forces_ and looked old enough to have been in the first collection of books the school acquired. Truth be told he had no idea how long the Garden had been around, so the book could be much older. He would probably find out once he got started reading about the history of his new home.

He offered her a return smile, "Trepe-Sensei, good morning! I wasn't expecting to see you before class. Have you been stalking me?"

The teasing tone he used caused Quistis to blink before a small dusting of pink washed over her cheeks. She obviously knew he was joking around so she recovered quickly enough, but Naruto was satisfied regardless with the little reaction he got from her, "I hate to shatter that ego of yours, but no. I was however told to come and find you, so I had security check for your location. When I found out you were in the Library, I decided to kill two birds with one stone and I brought the book I checked out last week back."

"Good thinking sensei, but why would you be looking for me? Is it about my GF situation?" Naruto asked while stepping aside to let Quistis return her book to the librarian.

"Yes, Headmaster Cid wishes to ask you a couple of questions in his office. You will be excused from class for this morning so that you don't have to hurry through the meeting. I will send you study materials through the Garden mail system to help keep you on pace with the class. I would be happy to add materials on GF history that I have to aid in your individual study if you would like." Quistis remarked while signing the paperwork as a receipt of return before turning back to Naruto.

He was quite pleased with her readiness to help him. He remembered the tragic disaster that had been his time at the academy back home. If it weren't back enough that he had to hide his true talents, he had to deal with the bigoted teachers trying to sabotage his progress. Had it not been for Kyu, he would have wound up a true idiot with hardly enough self awareness to be considered a human being. Thinking of his old mask persona sent a chill down his spine that didn't go unnoticed by his instructor who was watching him with a curious and somewhat amused expression.

"Are you quite all right Mister Uzumaki?" Quistis said after giving him a moment to recover.

"Yes, I was just remembering something rather… unpleasant involving a fox, a potato, and a paper bag. Anyway, I would love any assistance you can offer me sensei, I would be in your debt." Naruto replied with a moment of silence between his first statement and his second.

Quistis had absolutely no idea what the hell he was talking about, but decided that it would save her a lot of time if she ignored his strange comment, "Then if you would please follow me to Headmaster Cid's office I can drop you off before I have to head to class."

"I'll keep this book reserved for the next time you visit, okay?" The librarian piped up while placing the older book in one of the drawers behind her desk.

Naruto flashed a foxy grin at the librarian while saluting with two fingers, "Sounds good, thanks for that! Call me Naruto."

The girl flushed a little again but smiled nonetheless, "I'm Su, nice to meet you."

Naruto chuckled and left at a sedate pace following alongside his instructor. The morning students had all woken up by then and were heading in several directions. Two young men were jogging around the first floor main walkway while huffing and supporting each other with challenges to beat one another. He idly noticed a few clutches of student trading cards back and forth and wondered what the point of it was, but then again he would probably end up being sucked into it if it was trendy enough. To fill the silence between the two of them, Naruto decided to ask a question that had been burning at the back of his mind for a little while.

"Sensei, there is something that I would like to ask about if it wouldn't be too much trouble." Naruto broke the ice with the power of suggestion trying to ease on through rather than blunt force trauma the issue.

"I will try to help if I can, but if it is something I can't answer then I will try to point you in the right direction. Fire away." Quistis replied pleasantly.

Naruto was briefly reminded of the friendly teacher that he had known in his past as a child. The brown haired man was one of the kinder people he had known, even if he did have a temper on him. Had Naruto not been pretending to be a complete idiot, the two of them might have become closer sooner. As it was, they were merely friendly toward each other by the time of graduation. This woman, young as she was, had the makings of a fine teacher for younger students, but he felt her place teaching his age group was a bit… wrong. Regardless, she was someone he felt he could trust enough to speak to about personal matters, which his next question was most certainly personal.

"Well… ever since I started walking around the Garden, I have felt a bit… out of place. I have a lot of people staring at me in strange ways. Now, I am no stranger to being the center of attention, albeit in a rather negative way, but the stares I've been getting here are different. The guys tend to sneer or judge every move I make, while the ladies… I don't even know what that is about." Naruto rubbed at his hair a bit, doing nothing to help the heaping mess of sunshine blonde become any less a mess.

Being an orphan, Naruto had very little understanding of the human condition. This problem was only further exacerbated by the blind negativity shown toward him for a good portion of his life. Neglected, starved, harassed, accosted, humiliated and downright attacked by almost everyone in his home village, it was a wonder he hadn't become a psychopathic killer. Kyu had been there to keep him together through his early teens when his hormones were attacking his already delicate psyche, along with occasional visits from Kakashi, and later having the half-watchful eye of Jiraiya on him. This certainly helped to keep him sedated and held away from the dark side, but how was he supposed to remotely understand others when the people influencing most of his growth were a giant demonic charka monster in the shape of a fox, a loner and porn addicted anti-social former black ops agent, and a whore mongering sociopath who spent his days spying on innocent women and his nights drowning at the bottom of sake bottles with allegedly gorgeous ladies of the evening?

Quistis Trepe, youngest SeeD agent to ever study at Balamb Garden, soul mistress of the legendary Blue Magical Arts, youngest summoner to successfully gain the favor of the Fire Demon Ifrit within the great Balamb Garden halls, was completely at a loss for words. Truth be told, Quistis didn't have many friends within the Garden, and that was if those she considered friends even thought she cared. Ever since she was little she had been goal oriented. She joined the Garden and made it her goal to successfully summon her first GF before anyone else. After she had broken the limits others had set for her, she broke more by qualifying for the SeeD field exams much earlier than her peers. In no time she was known among the Gardens communities globally for her accomplishments. She discovered the long lost art of Blue Magic during one of her early SeeD missions, and had since become quite the icon among female and male students aspiring to be better than others expect them to be.

During that time, friendship and camaraderie had been placed on a back burner. She was a great team player, and always put duty and success for her team first above personal gain. But, while her team would celebrate by driving into town to have drinks at the Inn, she would be alone in the Library or Training Center trying to improve her body and mind to better accomplish her next task. Because of this, she had burned herself out rather early and hit a peak that she could not surpass. She was given the option to take a leave of duty, vacation a while and come back fresh, or she would be allowed to take a pay cut and serve SeeD as an instructor for an undefined duration. Seeing an opportunity to continue to serve SeeD, she chose the latter and had been teaching ever since.

She was not completely ignorant of his dilemma; in fact she found similar looks turned on her from time to time. The Trepe Squad, or whatever the hell they were calling themselves these days, had over a dozen members that somehow always slipped through the cracks during class assignment to be registered under her. While this wasn't an all together unpleasant arrangement, it served to weaken her reputation because these students purposely failed their exams to allow them further access to their icon. Because of her young age, which was eighteen, she found the stares of many young men very unsettling, even if she knew it was her own fault for applying herself to her usual beautification. Quistis was by no means a superficial woman. She enjoyed hard work and getting roughed up in a good fight as much as that knucklehead Zell did. SeeD had instilled in her, as well as many others, the need to look your best and always put a hundred and ten percent into your presentation. Often time's diplomats and foreign dignitaries would come to visit and inspect Balamb Garden, and SeeD are meant to represent the best they offer. Should they be needed for a defense mission, escort, hostile delivery, extended espionage, or an undercover security guard at a grand ball, SeeD must always look fresh out of the box and ready to serve. This self defense of her habits did not help to quell her unease with being eye candy to a bunch of hormonal gorillas with swords, guns, and bow staves.

Leaving her inner thoughts aside, Quistis was surprised to find they had wandered their way into the elevator. When had they gotten to the stairs? Why hadn't Naruto tried to get her attention while he had been walking with her? Looking to her side, she noticed that he had a pleasant half smile on his face, as if he had no care in the world. She realized he must have assumed she wasn't comfortable with his question, so he had clearly abandoned the troublesome subject to retreat into his own mind. She felt a bit guilty for collapsing into her own mind and leaving him out to dry, but before she could say anything he spoke up again.

"Wonder what the old man has in his head about my GF situation. Stupid memory loss of mine hasn't gotten any better either. Think he will have someone dissect me?" He asked while half smirking toward her now that he had noticed her eyes on him.

"W-what? Of course not! Headmaster Cid is a kind and good leader of the Garden and he would never harm a student for something as inconsequential as gaining information on a GF. We have information on so many of them in our database that the idea of your suggestion is appalling!" She exclaimed, though her voice was a bit too soft and airy to really pull off the stern affronted attitude she was attempting.

Naruto lifted his hands up defensively while grinning innocently, "Oi, take it easy there sensei, I was only kidding around. Old man Cid reminds me of someone from my past and I can tell he would never allow anything like that. It was good to get a rise out of you though. I keep this up you might actually learn how to scold someone properly."

* * *

Headmaster Cid enjoyed a good life as head of Balamb Garden. Oh sure, there were good days and bad days like any other job, but his job was much more exciting than the norm. On any given day, he would be responsible for a coup, or the systematic dismantling of a global corporation, and all of this was because of the amazing young men and women under his command. It was his duty to keep the school running at peak efficiency, and like any good leader he surrounded himself with the most trustworthy of his subordinates to help. The younger students considered the office positions to be a punishment for failing to impress the higher ups while in the field. Why would anyone want to work around the Garden after training for years to seek glory on a battlefield or in the shadows as a deadly assassin or crafty spy? Those naïve children couldn't be more wrong.

SeeD agents had a very rough job that required a great deal of their mental and physical fortitude to perform correctly. Often times a simple mission would become deadly in a matter of minutes and agents were to be on their toes from the moment they left the train station in Balamb. There had been assassination attempts on some of their more esteemed agents who had seen battles on open fields and gained titles and unwanted fame. There had been information leaks that led to ambushes on their best spies. Then there were the clients who assumed that their female agents were ordered to perform any and all requests give… even if they weren't within the mission parameters. To the veterans, like Cid's most trusted assistant Miss Xu, the position within his office had saved their lives. Having the few SeeD who had volunteered for his office positions nearby kept him at ease and kept the SeeD elite close by in case of emergencies. Everyone benefitted from those individuals who had given up the exciting career in the field, even if they could not see it.

Cid was seated at a desk that acted as the center piece for his office. The large and elegant dark oak wood was carved into many beautiful images depicting several of the most well known Guardian Forces with the two who allied with Balamb exclusively taking up positions of pride at the two forward corners, keeping a watchful eye on everyone who entered or exited his office. Behind him were the large windows that gave a perfect view of the plains surrounding the Garden, the forests to the west, and the white beaches to the south. His only regret was a lack of windows facing the mountains that bordered the northern coast of Balamb Island, and home to their two patron Guardian Forces, though students weren't allowed to be privy to that sort of thing. Hell, he wasn't even sure if they truly lived there, but he knew that in the event that either of them sent word of their displeasure, there were often landslides and earthquakes that originated from the imposing mountain range.

For the moment, Cid was enjoying a few moments of peace while he cleaned his collection of trading cards. The little collection was his pride and joy, and he knew a few students who would kill to get their hands on them. Still, everyone deserved a guilty pleasure, and he could be addicted to something far worse, like adult novels. Can you imagine the scandal? His peaceful musings were interrupted when the elevator doors that led into his office antechamber opened and he heard the soft yet irritated voice of his favorite little instructor Quistis Trepe.

"You little… I ought to… ohhhhh!" Quistis huffed while crossing her athletic arms over her modest bosom indignantly. Cid was amused that her cheeks seemed puffed out like an angry child who had been teased by their elder sibling.

Naruto, the new rookie he had convinced to stay at the Garden, stepped off the elevator smiling and laughing heartily, "There, see? That was much better. We need to work on volume now, and soon you'll really be kicking your students into shape."

Cid heard the tell tale sounds of chains rattling while Naruto turned away from his irate teacher to stroll further in, arms casually folded behind his head. There was a whip crack, and the sound of an impact, and soon Naruto was hopping around the antechamber holding his rump in an amusing mix of pain and embarrassment. Cid held back his laugh when he saw the victorious smirk on Quistis that soon vanished behind the closed doors of the elevator. As if on cue, as soon as she was gone, Naruto stopped and relaxed with a knowing grin on his lips. Cid found this odd, but decided not to ask, though Naruto had already seen the curious glint in his eye.

"Sometimes when you've teased a lady enough, you have to let them have their moment. I felt guilty because downstairs I asked her something that made her go quiet for a bit. I didn't want to ruin a friendship, so I got to teasing her a little on the elevator. After being a nosy bastard, and a teasing son of a bitch, I let her get a hit on me. Besides, she didn't put any of her power behind it; it was mostly just a warning shot. She's an angel, one with a deadly, deadly chain whip, but an angel nonetheless." Naruto commented while walking into the office and closing the double doors for privacy.

Cid sat back in his comfortable leather chair before nodding, "I agree, she is an angel. She was never cut out for the teaching position, but she didn't deserve to be sacked for doing her job. Besides, her experience in the field is invaluable, and having her teach our only two gunblade fighters is important. We've had varying results there, but that isn't of your concern. You have come here to explain to me just what the hell you are."

Naruto had been wearing a happy go lucky grin until he heard the serious tone change and then he put on his business face, the one he had only ever worn in private or during missions back home, "What do you mean, Old Man?"

Cid placed his hands on his desk in a steeple, and let his warm eyes go stern, "You show up out of nowhere bloody and dying, you heal in less than eighteen hours, you have a maturity that few of our SeeD agents can boast, and now I have heard that you possess an unknown Guardian Force that even Quistis was unable to find any information on in our extensive library. I have seen things in this world that have made me question my life and every choice I have ever made. I lost my… someone special to forces that should be impossible. I am ready to hear something new that will blow away all my perceptions again, especially if you aren't here to cause trouble."

"How do I know you won't think I am lying? Why should I believe that you won't take my story and then right after put me in chains? I've been betrayed before, Old Man." To emphasize his point, Naruto unzipped his uniform jacket and lifted his shirt to his chest to reveal the scar that he often tried to keep hidden with his clothes and armor, "This was given to me by someone who had been an ally, someone I was ordered to protect and who was ordered to protect me. I trusted him with my life, and when I tried to stop him from making the biggest mistake of his life, he tried to take it. I had a history with him, and this happened. Why should you be any different? You and I have no history, even less reasons to show our hands."

To say that Cid was taken by surprise was an understatement. The scar was large, large enough to have been made by an entire hand being literally shoved through his chest. The sickly pale color was a hideous contrast to his flawless tanned skin. Cid was no stranger to the gore of battle. He had personally bore witness to several of his SeeD agents' less subtle jobs as well as training accidents from monster attacks. It wasn't the sight of the past wound or the promise of the pain that it had given the boy that made Cid turn green. It was the sick realization that this grizzly wound was the result of friendly fire. How could such a thing happen to one so young? It only made him want to know the story behind the blond enigma even more.

Cid watched the boy fix his uniform, zipping the jacket up to his neck so that the collar flared up a little, "Listen to me, Naruto. Should you trust anyone... that is your choice to make. The only thing I can do is give you reasons to trust me. I want to trust you, and to earn that you will have to trust me enough to tell me where you came from. There is too much up in the air about who you are and it makes me a little uncomfortable having you around my students. My gut tells me that you are an innocent person who deserves a chance, so please, tell me more about you. In return, you have my word that nothing between us will be spread to any other person without you having chosen to trust them. I will also do nothing to harm you or imprison you here, and should you wish to leave Balamb then you will meet no resistance from me or any of my trusted SeeD members."

Naruto tried to think about his options, but his mind was abuzz with too much to focus. He had revealed something of his past in the heat of the moment, and broken one of the rules of being a shinobi. Even if that world was behind him, it was bred and burned into his soul to be secretive and tell nothing but false half-truths. There was something about the old man sitting at the desk before him that made him want to trust him. It was frustrating to be doing this alone. Kyu would have been able to sniff out this man's intentions in a heartbeat. Thinking of Kyu he mentally cursed again, remembering that he had yet to Junction either of his GFs and they were no doubt growing impatient. He would have to clear up his afternoon to get on that, workout routine be damned.

Sighing, Naruto took one last look into the eyes of his new headmaster, and then spoke slowly, "Old Man… you aren't going to believe a word of this horse shit in my head."

"Try me." Cid replied simply.

Naruto took a thinking pose and began from the beginning, "Well… I was born in a large and prosperous village named Konohagakure, or in your tongue I think it would be called The Hidden Leaf. You can look into your… data basics or whatever they are called, check your maps, and scour the globe with every SeeD member you have, and you will never find hide or hair of any village with than name, not even in your mythology or legends. The large continent that I lived on was named The Elemental Nations, and took up a majority of the world's surface. Legends told of lands to the west, but anyone who ventured beyond the known borders usually never came back. For all intents and purposes, this land I was born on, is on a completely different plain of existence.

The land was called Elemental Nations because every one of the individual countries was represented by a different natural element. I had been born within the Land of Fire. There were many others, but we are speaking about my life and where I came from, so we will save those for another day. The Land of Fire was the wealthiest of the many great nations and boasted the strongest military might in the land. Others were known for numbers, and others were known for their secret weapons, but the Land of Fire was home to only the most skilled of warrior. These warriors were known as shinobi, or ninja. These shinobi were raised and trained in specially built villages that each represented the strength of their nation. In the Land of Fire the people thrived on the lush and fertile lands as well as the abundant forests with trees that dwarfed most seen anywhere else. Because of the many forests surrounding the village of my birth, they decided to call it The Village Hidden in Leaves, or The Hidden Leaf for short.

My story begins with calamity. On a night like most others the people went to their beds to dream until the next sunrise. The only exception was a young couple who had been hiding their love from the outside world for the sake of their own safety. The two were strong, possibly the strongest to walk the Land of Fire. The man had been chosen to lead the leaf as their guiding torch, burning brightly to keep back the shadows that would dare to strike at his home and his precious people. The woman, his beloved wife, had a spirit that inspired her allies and terrified her foes. Her only passion was her love and loyalty to her beloved husband… and their unborn child. On that night, she went into labor, and because of her weakened state, something terrible happened.

In order to explain what happened you must know that in that world… we didn't have Guardian Forces. We fought and worked with our own hands and could not rely on blessings or enhancements to keep us safe. But, every world must have something powerful, something that man can use as a weapon. Such a power existed in the form of nine terrible entities that many knew only by their deadly power and the number of enormous tails they boasted. As is the way of such things, for each tail these beasts bore, their power grew. The ninth tailed beast… was none other than the Kyuubi no Kitsune, the nine tailed fox…"

Naruto used his Junction Watch to bring up the image of Kyu from the GF menu. In the image, Kyu was nothing but a dark sillouette. While his details were a mystery to Cid, the older man could see the shape of the beast in the hologram and gulped. He wasn't completely sure where this story was going, but that GF being involved brought on a sense of dread he hadn't felt in years.

"…This is the great beast with nine tails that could level mountains with a flick of his mighty tails. The powerhouse of strength and boundless energy was coveted by all and sought for his incredible might. The Land of Fire, the Village Hidden in the Leaves, they were the people to capture and contain him. He was the mightiest GF in my world, and people were chosen to… forced to become his summoner. Only, we couldn't summon him, because he was trapped inside our bodies. Mine, my mother before me, and another member of my family a generation before my mother… our bodies were the only ones with the strength to subdue him. Imagine it headmaster… to be forced to Junction one of your GF, but to contain every ounce of their power inside you instead of just their blessing.

In theory it was a great and powerful tool to have all of the power of a GF in your control. The villages used people to contain nine of them, and these people were nothing but weapons to be used. Some were polished and coveted for their strength and the responsibility they held, and some were left to rust and used without a care for their health, but all were merely weapons to their villages. I was one of the… luckier ones. I was mistreated and abused, but there were two others that I met that I cannot tell the stories of because such things are best left untold. I was very little when I actually made contact with the Kyuubi. He was angry, scared, and vengeful. I don't know exactly what happened, but while he had intended to break me, he decided instead to help me. Much like your GFs, the Kyuubi blessed me with strength, and gave me wisdom and taught me to be strong on my own without his strength. I kept this power a secret, because the people didn't deserve to know, and they would likely have tried even harder to kill me…"

Cid was shifting in his seat from left to right trying to take this story in. He would like the sound of something, and then it would immediately be brought back down. First he revealed that scar… that friendly fire scar… and now he tells the older gentleman that he suffered from possibly more attempts on his life from the very people he lived among. It was like something out of mythology.

"Many things happened in my life to make life rather harsh, but I will skip these things because I do not wish to relive them. After the incident that left me with the scar on my chest, a man who had once been the teacher of my father came forward to teach me as well. He had come through before then with other teachings, so it seemed like a very profitable deal. I couldn't have been more wrong. The man brought me along so that he could be paid a stipend of several thousand of my world's currency as compensation for caring for me. I ate well enough, and I was given enough to buy clothes for myself, but as far as teaching me things he was a very poor teacher. He would present me with a technique and then allow me the opportunity to work things out on my own. Had it not been for the Kyuubi, I wouldn't have grown nearly as much as I did.

And then… then came the night of my ultimate betrayal. My teacher used what funds I didn't need on expensive drink and women. The seedier the women, the better for this man because he was an insatiable addict with no shame. He would spy on women at public baths, sneak into the bedrooms of couples during their most intimate moments using his own brand of stealth abilities, and then stumble back to whatever hovel we were staying in smelling of rancid booze and other less familiar scents that would turn my stomach. On the night of my betrayal, he had not come back to our hotel for some time. I decided to sleep and simply complain to him in the morning. I woke up bound in steel string that cut into my arms and legs and forced me into submission. As he and a cheap bimbo from the red light district watched, he activated some kind of… well it is called a sealing matrix. In a nutshell, imagine a large circle full of intricate lines and symbols that connect to create a design that signifies a set of complex functions. This array was complicated, and poorly drawn with the hand of a drunken idiot. The activation set my body on fire with chakra, or in your world it could be called raw magical energy. I'm not entirely sure what the seal actually did, but I know that I was told that I had not died…"

"You were… you were told? By who?" Cid managed to speak through his tightly clenched throat. The mere thought of such a thing happening between a man who was charged with his well being, and the boy standing before him… it sickened the man who had spent his life as a caregiver.

Naruto caught his breath for a moment, and silently wished he had a glass of water, "Well, Headmaster Cid, here is where the real shit hits the fan. I don't know if your world has a name for her, but there is a Goddess known in my world as the Shinigami. She is the embodiment of death, and with her sword she judges the souls of those who die and sends them where they belong. She found the Kyuubi and me in a realm between life and death. In this place you neither exist nor do you not exist. Anything can be, and yet nothing can be. She felt something, she didn't make it clear what she felt, but when she found the two of us there she seemed almost amused. I… may have given her a piece of my mind, and I may be the luckiest son of a bitch in existence. Instead of sending the two of us to the other side, she decided to send us to a young world that needed us. She sent us here."

Cid couldn't quite come to terms with what he had just heard. The Grim, a mythological GF that only existed in stories, had sent him here? The Grim had never been seen, never been summoned by any person in legends. It was said that she only ever made herself known once, during a calamity that threatened to shake the world's core and destroy it. She had stepped in and swept her legendary blade Zanpa Kuto across the land, slaying both man and monster to quell the numbers of the two opposing sides in a show of raw power. Cid had only ever met one person who even heard the tale, but she had long since died after their chance meeting. This boy, if he chose to believe him, had shaken the foundation of what he believed was fact and fiction.

"The two of us were allowed to come here by Shiva, one of your two patron GFs. Kyu, the Kyuubi, joined the GFs here to help maintain the balance. I was dropped off here, most likely because your Garden will play a major role in the troubles that lie ahead. I wasn't told what they are or whether or not they can be avoided, but there is no way in hell I intend to kick back and watch things go down without helping. Everything in my heart tells me to stay here and help your Garden. I want you to believe me, Headmaster Cid. I know that it will be hard, and I do not blame you if you ask me to leave. I implore you to give me a chance. If nothing else, maybe I can help prepare others here for the trials ahead. Please, let me and Kyu help." Naruto bowed at the hip as his stern face scrunched up awaiting the outburst of anger, or the outright denial and refusal.

He heard the chair moving, and then the slow footsteps. His heart began to race as he waited and waited. Click, clack, click the fine dress shoes echoed into the office. He saw them come into view through the cracks of his eye lids and he shut them tight expecting to be struck. It wouldn't hurt him physically to be struck by a civilian class human like Cid, but the emotional pain would be there. Another man he gave a chance was going to betray him. Another person he felt he could turn his back to and feel secure would stab him. The phantom pain in his scar flared and he almost flinched. And then it happened. A hand more gentle than he had ever felt before since he was a child standing before the old man back home fell onto his shoulder. The touch was warm, like the touch of a father on his son's head to ruffle his hair, or the touch of a brother's hand in his own hand holding tight in a congratulatory shake.

Naruto opened his eyes and looked up at Cid while his body straightened up. The man's bespectacled face shined with a small smile as his eyes twinkled a little. When he spoke, it was soft, but stern to show that while he was being kind, he was not to be taken lightly. This was serious business.

"Naruto Uzumaki… you certainly surprised me with this story. I don't think that most would be able to swallow this particularly wild tale. But if there is one thing that I will not have anyone accusing me of, it is that I am most people. I will be doing my best to look into this, because even if I believe you there is still that chance that this is some intricate trick… but, there is just something about looking into those cerulean blues of yours that tells me that you are sincere. Under your smart remarks and fake smiles, there is a genuine and innocent young man trying desperately to gain the approval of others. You have my approval, Naruto, and you have my trust. I beg that you accept my approval and trust me in return."

Naruto stood stock still for a moment, all of the fake emotions that he used to mask his pain fell and his eyes lost some of their twinkle. Cid watched this and wondered if he was allowing his defenses to fall on purpose to see if he would be hurt as a test. After a time a strength seemed to fill the boy and color returned to his eyes in a blaze. It was clear to Cid then what had happened. Cid's words had penetrated deeply through his guard and caused Naruto to become vulnerable while he processed what he had been told. Now that Naruto understood him, had a chance to accept his words for what they were, he was back up and he looked even stronger than before.

"Old man, I accept! I promise that you will not regret putting your faith in Uzumaki Naruto, believe it!"

* * *

Somewhere in a cave on an island far, far away, a fox the size of a small cottage with fur that seemed to lick with flames was sitting on a pile of monster furs while sipping at a cup of lava. As the molten rock slid down into his gullet, he suddenly coughed and was forced to steady his breathing. A hulking tyrannosaurs-rex lumbered into the cave from a side passage. He wore a top hat and a rather smart looking monocle on his left eye. A black tuxedo style jacked was draped over his torso with his belly scales exposed. A white towel lay draped over his tiny right arm with nary a stain or wrinkle marring its pristine folds.

"Grr grw growl, gir?" The t-rex grunted with a surprisingly sophisticated western accent.

Kyu looked at his butler and waved his tails gently, "I'm quite fine Jeeves, I just had the strangest urge to tease my little brother. That reminds me, that little bastard hasn't Junctioned me yet. Oh, I don't want to be him if he hasn't Junctioned little Shiva yet. She is going to freeze parts of him that don't grow back, even with my power."

"Grrrrrrr…"

"Indeed. More tea please, Jeeves"

* * *

Back in Balamb Naruto had just stopped palming his face while grumbling something about annoying verbal ticks and annoying foxes. Cid found the whole thing very amusing and was glad for the break in tension. He swept his arms to guide Naruto toward the elevator while he spoke.

"Well my boy I have missions to distribute and paperwork to deal with so I must bid you farewell. Due to the time we have spent talking it is a little late for you to return to your class room. Take the day to do with as you please. I would suggest that you take some time to consider a weapon of choice, and perhaps see if you can use the study terminal in your dorm to access our system and read up on Junctioning. If you find a proper weapon, just come speak with me and I will assist you in ordering it, but you will have to be responsible for any newer versions that you wish to acquire." Cid spoke with a constant smile spread across his face.

Naruto seemed to remember something suddenly and slapped his forehead, "Of course, that magazine I got. I'll get right to work Cid, you won't be disappointed, I promise. I never go back on my promises."

Naruto hopped into the elevator with enthusiasm, and as the door closed only one thought was on his mind:

' _First… I need to finally Junction those two. Kyu is going to kill me.'_

* * *

Meanwhile, in a dimension far, far away, it was a stunningly beautiful day in the Elemental Nations for the people of Konoha. The sun was high and shining its warm, loving rays on the village streets. Even without a festival going on, the people were giddy and fancy free in their actions. Even the ninja, who normally kept a tense eye on everything around them, seemed much more relaxed than normal. It would have been a terrible thing indeed for anyone to be suffering in any way on such a glorious day. Yes, it would be criminal to be enduring anything unpleasant on such a day.

The Great Toad Sage Jiraiya was one such criminal not feeling very good at that moment. No, indeed he was feeling downright awful at the moment. Why, you may ask? It wasn't because he had been savagely beaten that morning by a mob of incredibly indignant half naked women wearing towels. It wasn't because of the scathing review his recent book Icha Icha Forever had received from the Women's Association for the Banishment of Perverts. It wasn't even the strange growth that had started to form on his more intimate area. No, he was feeling awful because he had no idea how the hell his next plan was ever supposed to work. That thought was emphasized by a blonde teen in an ungodly orange and black jump suit toad hopping along the road beside him.

Said teen had been hopping along attracting as much attention as possible. The stares he got were something of fairy tales, and Jiraiya was feeling worse and worse as time went on. These people on the street were the least of his worries though, considering who he had to take the boy to see. The only woman he had ever loved for more than her stimulating body. The most terrifying woman to ever walk the Elemental Nations besides the Red Hot Habanera… he had to convince Senju Tsunade that this hopping idiot was the boy who had rescued her from her vices all those years ago. He remembered that mission like it was yesterday, mostly because it had been one of the few times he didn't get to do any research for fear his little soldiers would lose their barracks.

The old man had died and the village was in need of someone to lead. The kid wouldn't have agreed to come along if it hadn't been for his sensei, Kakashi, being hurt by some prick missing ninja. Things weren't so simple, and Naruto had had to really work to get the stubborn old woman to open her eyes and swim out of the pit of sake bottles she had sunken into. Then there was the snake bastard who had brought even more crap into the mix. In the end he had inspire her to come back after he had been willing to throw himself in the way of a blow that would have killed her. She gave him her most cherished necklace that day, and returned to her home to take up the mantle of leadership. That necklace now rested in his pocket, the only trinket of Naruto that was left after the… unfortunate accident.

It took a little longer than it should have, but it was all too quick for the pervert. The two found the large palatial Hokage Tower and were standing outside the office door. He felt something… fear? Something on the other side of this door was going to try to kill him. Before he could lift his hand to knock, the door clicked open and an ANBU wearing the boar mask peeked out.

"You may enter, Jiraiya-Sama, Tsunade-Sama is just finishing up a report with Team Eight. Uh… Jiraiya-Sama, what is wrong with Uzumaki-san?" Boar spoke softly through a voice changer installed inside their mask.

Jiraiya didn't even want to look, but he knew he had to. When he turned around 'Naruto' was crouched in a toad like position while eyeing a small gnat that was flying around the light fixture. He was horrified when a long tongue snapped out and caught the insect before bringing it back to his waiting mouth. The resounding crunches turned the stomachs of both Jiraiya and Boar, but neither said a word. Boar simply opened the door, and Jiraiya walked over to 'Naruto' and grabbed him by the collar to drag him away from the ceiling light and into the office.

Senju Tsunade was looking over the papers that Team Eight had secured while tracking a team of missing ninjas through Fire Country when she heard the Toad Sage walk in. Those damned wooden sandals of his were both an eye sore and made him all too easy to hear coming without the use of stealth techniques. While normally she would be groaning a visit from this man, she was alight with joy at the prospect of seeing a bigger and even more handsome Naruto come strolling into her office exuding his usual confidence and smiling brightly. Team Eight turned to face the Sage and one very pale girl among them gasped inwardly at the prospect of seeing her childhood crush again. It had been four years since anyone had seen or heard anything from him, and it had worried a great many of their group because it was unlike Naruto to not stir up trouble that would make news everywhere.

Silence fell over the group of three adults and four teens. Jiraiya felt sweat dripping down his pimpled old back as he was scrutinized as well as the odd teen by his side. How could his luck be so foul? An Inuzuka, a Hyuga, an Aburame, a Genjutsu specialist… and the most intimidating old woman in existence in the same room all looking at 'Naruto with suspicious eyes, well he assumed the Aburame had a suspicious glare like the rest, but those bastards all wore sunglasses! His heart stopped when he heard a sniff coming from the Inuzuka boy. Then he nearly fainted when he saw the veins bulging on the Hyuga girl's face. If that hadn't been enough, the Aburame released a single bug to scent the air, and it was snatched up by a sudden tongue flashing through the air. The snapping of a solid chakra steel pen that had especially designed to withstand the enormous strength of Tsunade was the final sign.

"That's not Naruto…" The Inuzuka boy said rather intelligently.

"N-not Naruto-kun…" Whispered the Hyuga with a voice that was colder than anything Jiraiya had ever heard.

"It would be logical to conclude that this poorly planned trick is exactly that, a trick. In other words, Naruto is not here in this office where he should be, based on the evidence present."

"Kai!" The beautiful Genjutsu mistress called out while channeling chakra to her index and middle finger tips before jabbing them into the forehead of 'Naruto.' The blonde's forehead seemed to cave in from her jab, but as the illusion vanished it was clear she was pushing her fingers into the gelatinous and mucous covered skin of a large and friendly looking toad.

"Jiraiya…" A voice of steel and cold like samurai swords caught in a gust of winter wind rose from the back of the room, "Where… is… Naruto-kun…?

Jiraiya looked to his former team mate and lifelong love and began to panic. What could he say? He had to lie, say he was kidnapped and that the toad was a part of his plan that he would lay out for her. That might work, and it would give him time to come up with a better solution that wouldn't end his life. Before he could spin his yard of horse shit, a God of some kind had taken this time to inspire his usually stoic and silent toad companion to speak out of turn.

Like an atom bomb dropping silently into a small town, "Jiraiya-Sama used a poorly drawn extra-large experimental storage seal to burn Naruto-kun to itty bitty pieces."

If a fly had chosen to shit it would have made a sound loud enough to be heard inside the office at that moment. For the three inexperienced teens, they didn't really understand the implications, but they did understand that one of their own had just been described to have been burned alive. The Hyuga girl fell to her knees and clutched her sides in a desperate ploy to keep from falling apart. The Aburame was silent and stoic as usual, but behind his high collard coat his teeth were grinding and a single unseen tear stained his shadowed cheek. The Inuzuka boy was the only teen who decided to speak.

"What the fuck are you saying?! What do you mean burned up?! What, like a fire jutsu or lava?! The fuck did you do to him?!" The boy let loose a snarl while his back arched. It was common knowledge that when an Inuzuka felt despair or sadness, to remain strong they would displace their emotions to anger and blind rage.

"Take your team out of here Kurenai, now!" Tsunade ordered in a stern voice, but the Genjutsu Mistress had heard the slight trembling hidden underneath. Without a word, she ushered her team out of the office while having the Inuzuka busy himself with handling the fallen Hyuga. The Aburame stood stock still for a moment, but eventually his sense of duty overwhelmed his desire to hear the truth and he too left the room.

When the three were alone, man, woman, and toad, the woman stood from her chair. As if scheduled, a sudden weight fell on Jiraiya's shoulders. He was a strong man, and had faced many things in his life that would have broken lesser men. None of that compared to the sheer force of the Killing Intent that was crushing his soul. As Tsunade walked, each of her steps left cracks in the solid stone floor that had been designed to withstand the strongest techniques possible. Nothing short of a tailed beast was supposed to put a dent in the structure, and yet her mere weight made child's play of the well built floor. When she stood in front of him, his eyes widened as her face took on the shape of a demonic mask, the same mask that the Shinigami wore when she came to take Minato's soul in exchange for her services.

"You will tell me what has happened to Naruto now, and you will do so without embellishment or fan fair. Let it be known that I have never considered killing you more than I am right now, so do not give me reason to do so by lying to me." Senju Shinigami said while red eyes promising death glowed from behind the mask.

Somewhere deep inside, Jiraiya knew this was the effect of properly maintained Killing Intent. With enough strength and focus, one could convince another of anything. The effect differed from person to person. This… this was why he had always tried not to cross the line with Tsunade. He had heard from Dan once that while she had been enduring her monthly, she had used it on him because he had bought her the wrong brand of sake to help with her cramping. He wished he had taken that warning more seriously. He found his voice eventually and when he spoke it was with a weak and vulnerable voice he did not recognize.

"I was out all day… doing my research…" He quivered as the intensity of the air seemed to grow heavier, "I had found the inspiration to finish my latest book. To celebrate, I went to a local bar and had a few good drinks. I… met someone, a real classy lady…" Tsunade seemed to growl her disbelief and he knew to correct himself, "I hooked up with… with an escort. We were very drunk… possibly drugged, but I didn't pass out there. I went back to our hotel room and while we walked I told her about my… special skills. She challenged me and promised… a discount if I put on a good show."

By this point Tsunade was starting to lose it, her anger growing with her pain. She had lost too many people to violence, but this… this was not a war, this was not a battle worthy of song. This was not the fate that someone as wonderful as Uzumaki Naruto deserved. She had wanted to be closer to the boy, but there had been no time with her having to assume control over the overflowing paperwork and responsibilities of being the leader. She told herself there would always be time later… there would always be drinks at the bar to share funny stories, parties at friends homes to hook up and chat about their daily lives, being there to deliver his first child with him and his future wife…

"What… what did you… do…?" Tsunade asked through her clenched teeth, her eyes barely holding the tears back.

Jiraiya took a deep breath in order to continue, "When we returned to my room… mine and Naruto's… I had decided to show her the seal the boy and I had been working on. He… he knew that one of the things you had always hated was losing people in the field. He came to me with an idea for a seal to present to you when we returned… a gift for the Hokage he called it, to honor you taking the seat. Said he never found the time to congratulate you since you got so busy when we brought you back. It was… was meant to create the same stasis effect on humans that normal storage scrolls created for food and bounty heads… but without the threat of suffocation or loss of brain function that normal seals presented. Said he had read it in a book that you had written when he was a kid…"

A little part of her heart broke at that point, and her Killing Intent shattered like so many pieces of broken crystal. He had been working on a gift for her… Something that she had been passionate about but never had the knowledge of seals to truly pursue. And he had read one of her books long before they had ever met. In a matter of seconds a hundred bonds were formed and immediately severed. It was becoming too much for her. Jiraiya knew nothing of her inner thoughts and continued on, albeit much easier without her Killing Intent crushing his lungs.

"I drew the array that he had been intending to attempt on one of his clones. He was going to make it an extra durable clone that he would keep away in order to test the effects and gain the feedback without endangering anyone. I was so drunk… so twisted in the head at the time I hadn't even thought about the fact we hadn't tested it yet. And even then it was all... warped and incorrect because of my unsteady brush strokes. When it had dried, I… I tied him up using razor wire."

Tsunade retched when she heard him utter the words. He had tied up Naruto? In fucking razor wires of all things? Ninja weren't even allowed to use those on prisoners from enemy territory because of the damage they caused!

"…And then he woke up and I… I don't remember what I said. I remember laughing, and the look on his face. I remember him asking me to stop joking around. He… he thought it was a prank or something. And then I… I activated the seal and the room became so bright that the girl screamed and ran out. The chakra flames were roaring so loud and his screaming… I have never heard such horrible screaming before. When the flames finally died down, there was nothing left but the melted razor wires. This survived only because he had taken it off and placed it in his pack earlier to keep it safe from the hot springs we bathed in."

Jiraiya took out the all too familiar cursed necklace that Tsunade had given to each of her loved ones to bring them luck. Naruto had modified it a bit, adding several charms. Tsunade took the necklace in her palm and looked it over with half closed eyes dreamily. In addition to the beautiful stone that had always been on the necklace, there was a charm in the shape of a fox, a charm shaped like a monkey, a white canine fang, a small pendant shaped like a flame with a swirl in the center, and… a six sided die.

That last charm was the final straw that broke her resolve. She was ready to collapse, ready to fall apart and rip the pervert in front of her limb from limp while she cried. But, a small and cheeky voice broke her from her misery and shocked her with that it said.

"Don't know what you guys are so serious. It's not like Naruto bro is dead or anything." A new toad had come and replaced the other who had dropped the bomb previously. It seemed these toads were set to give nothing but outrageous news today.

"Gamakichi, it's been a while! You got b-…" Jiraiya was saying before the orange toad that was about the size of a human interrupted him.

"You shut the hell up, Jiraiya- _Sama_ , you have no idea how pissed off everyone is back home. You've done a lot to drag our race's name through the mud with your womanizing, your greed, and your god damned books. The Great Toad Sage has been unsettled ever since you pulled your bull shit. The prophecy is in jeopardy and it is entirely your fault! Dad says that if you don't find out what the hell happened to Naruto, you'll have hell to pay." Gamakichi croaked while glaring in a way that only toads can.

"Wait, hold on a moment, Gamakichi-san, what do you mean Naruto isn't dead?" Tsunade asked, getting an incredulous look from the toad.

"As the Mistress of Slugs, I am surprised that you do not know how we know that Naruto isn't dead."

Tsunade thought a moment, and a light seemed to flicker on in her head as hope filled her eyes, "Of course, the contract!"

Jiraiya snapped his fingers and brought his large scroll from behind his back to lay on the floor. With a flick, a stretch of the parchment spread out and several signatures became visible. The first was Jiraiya, followed by the dull faded name of Minato. When the next one came into view the three of them gasped at what they saw. Naruto's red hand print and blood signature were as bright and strong as ever, but there was a chain seal surrounding it with locking symbols interspaced every few links. At the bottom was a symbol shaped like a padlock with 'Blessing' written within. Gamakichi was the first to notice something that neither of the humans had seen.

"What are these Kanji?" He pointed toward Naruto's name where a title would have appeared once Naruto had earned one. Minato's name had Yellow Flash emblazoned beneath it, while Jiraiya had always had Super Pervert and Toad Sage. Titles that had been earned were proudly displayed in the crimson life of the summoner who had earned it. Potential titles were displayed in black ink, awaiting activation.

Both the Toad Sage and Slug Princess scanned their eyes over the strange markings with no clue as to what they meant.

In large capital letters written in raven ink, Naruto's future title read:

 **GUARDIAN ENFORCER**

* * *

 _ **Here we are back with round three, I am just so happy to be writing this story and seeing all those favs and subs. To see so many senpai noticing me is crazy, but I will forge on so long as I know the watchful eyes of senpais are on me!**_

 _ **Crazy me aside, I hope everyone enjoys this. I had an anonymous user request a look back at Konoha to see how Naruto's incident would go down, and I took it as an opportunity to develop some back story. At times things may seem inconsistent, and I will explain some of this in the future. Don't be too quick to think I am a madman throwing crap about while screeching like a monkey! There are things about Final Fantasy 8 that you need to know in order to make sense of Naruto's inconsistency. No spoiling though, you will just have to figure it out!**_

 _ **Another thing I would like to address is the slow pace I am going. I know that this day by day thing will get tedious, regardless of whether or not interesting things happen to develop characters. Bear with me. In order to add depth into later events, I want to carefully develop relationships so that things make sense. I don't want one of those moments were Naruto suddenly snaps and confesses undying love to someone who for all intents and purposes has had practically no interaction with him. A romance that is built upon a solid foundation is way more appealing than some random whirlwind romance. This is partially why I have not announced an official pairing yet. Just because someone is crushing, doesn't mean the end result will be love. For now I am only going to teasingly develop small attractions between characters.**_

 _ **Also, there is zero chance of a Harem because of my solid romance stance. Don't get me wrong, love those wild and messy fan fictions, but that's not my writing style.**_

 _ **Tell me how you feel about Seifer's attitude! Tell me what you think of all the nosebleeding! Tell me how you feel about Cid Notsovicious! Tell me who you hope Naruto ends up with! (not Rinoa, sorry Rinoa fans!) Tell me if you want more Konoha Recaps!**_


	4. Chapter 4

"Okay let's see… open the menu… GFs... No wait, fuck. It's the Junction option, right? Ugh, why didn't I ask in class yesterday? Oh! I think I got it! No… no not yet. Here… then here… and then… Yosh!"

Naruto cheered with his right hand in the air while his left hand hovered in front of his chest where he had been using his Junction Watch. After his meeting with Cid he had been torn between getting Shiva and Kyu Junctioned and searching through his weapon magazine that Shiva had placed in with his equipment in the Gear seal. In the end he knew that if he didn't get the Junctioning done, there would be some kind of hell to pay, even if he wasn't sure what kind of hell it would be. He had spent nearly twenty minutes trying to figure out just how the hell he was supposed to do anything with the silly watch, and another fifteen making sure he looked like a complete idiot by searching through the same three menus for what he needed. Thirty five long minutes later and now he had finally Junctioned Kyu, and he could feel the familiar sensation of power that had once been the constant reminder of his brother.

Peering down at the holographic menu, Naruto was confused to find a new name on his list of Junctionable GFs. It spelled out Quezacotl, and he knew he would never be able to pronounce that. He smirked when he began running potential nicknames through his head when he remembered the name from that day in class. Leon had said it was a thunder bird or something, and there were two names that he thought about calling the GF should he be a reasonable and friendly creature like Shiva had been. He Junctioned the two GFs and suddenly felt the hair on the back of his head stand slightly while charging with static electricity. Right after, he gasped and the breath he released formed a faint funnel of steam that rose and vanished just as quickly as it had appeared.

' _That was interesting… is that going to happen every time I Junction with a new Guardian?'_

Naruto deactivated his Junction Watch and would have gone to fetch his magazine, but a pulsing light caught his attention. His watch was lighting up like an alarm clock every few seconds. The ex shinobi rubbed his chin while examining the device and he wondered why his life always made simple things more complicated. Snapping his fingers, he remembered something that Kyu had mentioned in his letter and he sighed sadly. He had been instructed to meditate, which was something that he found utterly boring and time consuming. Without Kyu to disable his outside senses so he could focus, this might as well be impossible. If he didn't try though, Kyu would tan him for being a brat and not listening to his older brother properly. Damn overbearing fox brothers…

He took a seat in the middle of the floor to have a solid base for his meditation. He had tried many times to use cushions or his mattress back in the Elemental Nations, only for the easily shifting fabrics, stuffing, and springs to distract him with every breath he took. Next he removed his jacket so that only his form fitting under shirt would remain, removing the baggy top so that the sleeves and such wouldn't rub against his skin. Now fully prepared for the hell that was sitting and doing nothing, he assumed a perfect lotus position, and then searched for his center. The sound of his breath was the only thing he was aware of as time crept along and then suddenly after what could have been an eternity he felt the familiar pull.

Naruto knew not to grow excited because if he lost concentration the feeling might shatter. Instead he focused his chakra inward to feel out the pulling sensation. Much like two magnets, he felt his chakra very suddenly latch onto something that pulled him along. The sensation falling through space overwhelmed him for a brief moment, and then a chill ran up his spine. His chakra settled, and then he heard the sound that he had grown accustomed to over many years.

 _Drip… drip… drip…_

Opening his eyes, Naruto groaned at the sight of his disgusting mindscape. He never quite understood why he had a sewer inside of him, but he figured that there was an awful lot of worse places to be. Like the kennels at the Inuzuka place back home. Naruto stood up from the not-wet water that flooded the area and walked. He noticed a few changes as he wandered the familiar, yet unfamiliar halls. For one thing, the extra pipe that had always carried Kyu's chakra through his system was gone. In its place was a strange new pipe that was much thicker and it lacked the sinister taint of demonic influence that had always made the old pipe rather disconcerting. Naruto felt a little sad knowing that the strong connection he and Kyu had shared would never be the same, but it was overshadowed by the happiness that Kyu was no longer trapped inside this pit he called a stomach.

As he grew closer to the core of what would be his chakra network, he heard voices speaking in echoes against the walls. At first they were too distant to be heard properly, but over time the words made sense. He could head a very distinct feminine voice like soft chimes in the breeze. Another was an all too familiar rumbling voice that sounded more amused than the usual intimidating. A third unfamiliar voice sounded masculine, though it was not harsh like the other. Instead, this very new voice was calm, almost stoic. Naruto was reminded of a sunglasses wearing teen his age that he had once known before he had to leave his home.

" **Patience, sister Shiva, it would be unbecoming for him to see you again in a fuss. I sense him approaching us.** " The stoic male commented calmly.

The female who was now obviously Shiva let out an audible huff that send a cold wind through the hall Naruto was walking, " **How can you sense him if you haven't even properly bonded with him? You just want me to stop talking, and that was your sneaky way of trying to tell me to shut up.** "

" **You have been talking nonstop since you came back from the school that he attends…** " Kyu grumbled with what Naruto could tell was an amused grin judging by his tone.

" **You too?! This is not fair! No ganging up on me, or I will freeze you two together in an embarrassing pose!** " Shiva complained while Kyu barked out a booming laugh that shook the walls around them.

Naruto finally found the central chamber that had once been the prison cell of his brother and he froze in shock. The cage was gone, that was quite obvious since the seal had been broken, but he had no idea how much space the metal monstrosity had taken up. Several steps had appeared and the floor was elevated so the water flooding his system could not reach this area any more. The large pipe that had been following the ceilings angled up the wall toward the high ceiling of this chamber and towards the center. At the center of the room the pipe split into twenty three separate pipes that each spread back towards the walls in a star burst-like pattern and back down the walls to twenty three platforms.

Twenty of the platforms were darkened and lifeless, like inactive machinery. The three that were active were the size of his old apartment, and each bore strange decorations that followed themes. The two nearest platforms were located on either side of the door that he was currently standing in. To his left, he found a frozen winter wonderland with snow that fell from the darkness above to rest on the pure white below. He found it amusing that there was a perfectly rolled snow man positioned beside an igloo that had sunshine blonde hair made of what looked like woven wheat or hay. To his right he found a dimly lit platform with few decorations, though a very majestic golden statue stood wearing a uniform that resembled the SeeD uniforms he had seen. The statue stood with a confident grin across its… whiskered face? Naruto realized it was a statue of himself with his arm held out as if to carry some kind of large bird. The area didn't seem finished, and he wondered why, but decided to keep his questions for the right time.

The final platform was at the absolute back of the chamber and supported a grassy area with a rather tall hill taking up a majority of the space provided. The grass was thick around the hill, and he noticed that the only place with trimmed grass was beneath a large hole dug into the side of the hill. He recognized it as soon as he caught sight of the hole. It was a fox den, and it was big enough for quite a large beast to fit inside. He idly wondered why Kyu would need such a thing, but his thoughts weren't able to form properly because of a sudden interruption that came in the form of a light blue skinned maiden slamming into him.

Naruto fell back and rolled twice head over heels before stopping on his back. As he groaned in dazed confusion, he felt a weight pressing down on his stomach. His vision focused slowly until he could finally make out the details of his attacker. Of course it was Shiva, the odd winter goddess that had allowed him to come to this world. Her beauty was just as radiant as it was then, though she was dressed differently. In truth, he could say that she was simply dressed, and that last time she had been in a severe state of undress. Her current coverings however… did nothing to hide much of her subtle beauty. She wore elegant silks of light blue that wrapped around her slender frame to cover her modest chest and shapely hips. Her bell was exposed, as well as her arms and most of her neck due to the low cut of her silks. Her legs were mercifully covered in baggy silver pants that reminded him of those beautiful dancers in the books he read about sultans and genies. In fact, if he didn't know better, he would think this beauty was a genie herself.

Naruto was torn away from his admiration of her beauty when he saw the cold fury in her eyes. He knew that look, it was the look that he had seen on wives who were ready to throttle their husbands. If he had learned nothing from the pervert Jiraiya, there was at least one lesson that had been learned without consent: never piss off a woman. He had seen firsthand that women, well those without a biased hatred and bigoted sensibilities, were naturally wonderful people with good hearts who were more often ready to help in most situations. The only flaw that he had ever seen in women was their readiness to be angry over many things that men weren't programmed to understand. Based on all of the men he had ever met, he could safely say that he was not the only dense moron out there. Instead of explaining what men did wrong, most times women would jump to punish idiotic men, especially those behaving in a way that was even remotely perverted. Naruto still flinched when around hot coffee after the time he had been picking up his bag and a suspiciously orange book fell out.

It had been his favorite journal for sealing ideas and theories. The coffee had… successfully sterilized his family jewels. They got a free meal that day after the truth had been revealed. His boy's barracks had never felt the same.

"H-hello Shiva-chan, how are you?" Naruto asked with trepidation.

Shiva shoved a delicate light blue finger into his face while her eyes grew even sterner, " **You know exactly how I am, Naruto Uzumaki. What took you so long?!** "

"Heh… a lot of things have been happening in the past couple days… and I sort of…" Naruto trailed off into a soft mumble that made Shiva's brow twitch violently.

" **What did you sort of do? Speak up and be a man.** " Shiva demanded while growing impatient.

Naruto grunted indignantly at the jab to his manhood and his face tightened up, "I lost track of time and I forgot, okay? I ended up sparring with someone my first afternoon, and then this morning right after I woke up I was cornered in the library by my instructor and told to see Old Man Cid."

Shiva huffed while turning her head to the side like a stubborn child, snow falling from her hair as it whipped around, " **We felt when you registered us and you could have done it then. Forgetfulness is not going to fly around here, mister.** "

Naruto's face fell to a neutral stare that spoke volumes for how amused he was with that last statement, "Like how you have forgotten to get up off of me this whole time?"

Shiva flushed a little, but suddenly kicked her leg up and around to sit sideways across his hard stomach muscles, " **I haven't forgotten... I am gracing you with the privilege of being my temporary throne.** "

Naruto got the distinct feeling that he was being made fun of. This was only strengthened by the light chuckles coming from two males that he couldn't see beyond the blue beauty using his body as a chair. He heaved a sigh and then sat up on his elbows so that he could look at Shiva properly. He waited until her icy blues met with his cerulean, and then he spoke softly while giving a small smile.

"I'm sorry for making you wait. I know that it's not gentlemanly to make a lady wait for anything, especially one as beautiful as you. Will you forgive this poor, dense male for his tardiness?" Naruto had only read a little of those damned orange books… only a little.

Shiva's eyes narrowed and she held her stern gaze for a long few minutes. Naruto held his smile in place and never took his eyes off hers. Sweat began to run down his back despite the chilling cold air that seemed to emanate from the woman sitting on him. Just as the pressure began to crack the poor boy, he saw Shiva perform a complete one eighty. She smiled brightly while her eyes softened and she floated up off of his stomach. When he sat up her arms wrapped around his neck sending chills throughout his body. Her grip was snug as he struggled to stay upright.

" **I can't stay mad at you, Naruto! You're just so… wonderful! Isn't he wonderful, brother Quezacotl?"** Shiva exclaimed while helping Naruto to his feet before twirling through the air around him, snow falling behind her path.

Naruto heard a swooping whoosh of air, followed by the soft crackle of static. Seemingly out of no here, a great golden bird flew down to hover before him, wings flapping far too slow to actually keep him airborne and yet there he floated. Lightning arced silently across the floor and up the walls periodically. Naruto noticed many light blue markings decorating the surface of the golden bird's… skin? There were clearly no feathers, and for that matter Naruto wasn't even sure if the thing had any eyes. As disconcerting as some of its features were though, Naruto found a pleasant aura coming from the beast. When it spoke no mouth opened, and yet it was loud and clear.

" **So you are the Uzumaki boy that sister Shiva has been bragging about so much. Interesting… I sense a great power in you, and a potential we have not felt in thousands of years. I am but a shadow of my true self, and our bond is superficial through your Junction. Please, place your hand on my chest so I may see for myself if you are what Shiva claims.** "

While Shiva grumbled about big mouthed birds, Naruto was too distracted by the request he had been given. He took a few steps forward as Quezacotl lowered closer to the floor. Very cautiously, Naruto pressed his palm against the golden body of the thunder bird. As before, a light shined brilliantly within the chamber, and when it died away the chamber seemed brighter in general. Light and life had flooded the platform by the door, and the statue he had seen stood proud and gleaming, the face now carved into a fox grin. Naruto felt the smooth golden body become warmer against his hand, and then felt a breeze blow from the heavy wing beats that had not been present before.

" **This bond… it is complete. How can this be? The last True Summoner perished when she summoned Odin to deal with those… This is indeed a very remarkable moment for all of our kin. Shiva, you were right to keep this from too many of our brothers and sisters. It is especially important to keep this from Cerberus and Carbuncle until we are sure of the intentions of their Garden. This is too important, and those two are zealously loyal to their humans. Should this reach the ears of the wrong humans, Uzumaki would be in terrible danger. It is my recommendation that we tell no one of him unless they meet him in person.** " Quezacotl left no room for argument, which funny enough caused Shiva to pout.

The icy goddess draped her arms around Naruto's neck from behind causing the boy to jump a little while shivering from a slight coldness that crept into him, " **But I really wanted to shove this in the face of that three headed mutt. He is always saying that his humans are stronger than ours and it really, really pisses me off.** "

Naruto felt a particularly large drop of sweat form on his forehead, and he could see the same mirrored on the face of the large bird who spoke a moment later, " **That is… unfortunate, sister. I think that perhaps you can find something to distract you from your irritation. Or someone…?** "

' _Fucking traitor!'_ Naruto thought as he clearly noticed a twinkle in the eye of the moving bird statue.

" **You're right, brother! Until we meet them face to face I will make sure to keep our champion in top form so that he can truly shine and put their pathetic whelps in their place! Ah hahahahaha!** " Shiva's laugh would have beautiful like the tinkling of snowflakes brushing against the pane of a country window… if it hadn't been for the maniacal nature of it.

Near the back of the room among the blades of tall grass near the hill, Naruto saw the familiar orange head of his brother peaking up to spy at him with large glowing red eyes, smirking, "What so damn funny, fur ball?!"

" **Just enjoying this moment while I gather all the blackmail material I will ever need. Don't mind me, I am just keeping an eye on my little brother and his girlfriend…** " Kyu replied while lowering down into the grass again like a damn snake.

It took a few moments for the two of them to register what had been implied, and then Shiva and Naruto broke apart like someone had set off an explosion between them. Naruto was whistling while looking anywhere and nowhere at the same time. Shiva had vanished behind her little snow house with only her icy blue eyes peeking over the top like a kid trying to avoid their parents. Quezacotl watched this with amusement, though you couldn't tell. He had made his way to his personal space inside of Naruto's fascinating mindscape. Resting himself on the outstretched arm of the likeness of his newest summoner, he hid a chuckle by pretending to nibble at an itch beneath his right wing. Naruto took a few moments to collect himself after being so incredibly embarrassed, and then he made his way over to the large thunder bird.

"Erm… Quezacotl…" Naruto started rather reluctantly before continuing once the bird gave him a reassuring nod, "Would you be angry if I gave you a nickname that I could remember easier? Usually I just give out nicknames and to hell with what people think, but we're practically family now that Kyu calls you brother, and I want to be respectful."

Quezacotl looked at the little human with curiosity. This wasn't the first time he ran into something like this. Most summoners changed his name in their Junction Watches for convenience, but none of them had ever thought to ask if he minded. Truth be told he couldn't care less. Summoners of this world had fallen from grace and if one could even handle the draw on their natural magic, he would appear with only enough time to cast a single overpowered Thundaga spell that the humans named Thunderstorm. Even if he didn't care one way or the other what people called him, this kid, this… Uzumaki… had just shown him respect that he had not seen in a very long time. It was this moment that he would tell future generations of summoners that he had truly wished to serve a summoner, never before and probably never as strongly after.

" **If you have a suitable nickname then I would hear it, Naruto.** " Quezacotl said while tilting his golden head to the side.

"One of the few people that knew me back home was a man named Kakashi. He became my second sensei, and someone who I trusted without doubt. He was also the sole survivor of the team that my father taught before he took the leadership role in my home village. He was truly a ninja of skill, and honor. Like you, he was a master of lightning, and I would like to nickname you after his prized original technique. I would call you Raikiri, or Lightning Cutter in the language of this land." Naruto replied without hesitation and with a passion that spoke volumes of his respect and even admiration for the man he knew back home.

" **It is a fine name that bears strength. I would wear such a name with honor out of respect for your former sensei.** " The newly named Raikiri bowed his head toward his summoner, who promptly bowed at the hip to return the gesture before smiling a goofy grin out of genuine happiness.

"Ano, do you guys think that you could help me figure something out that has been bugging me since I sparred yesterday?" Naruto asked the entire room while walking to the center of the chamber.

Shiva floated out of her hiding spot to join him. She sat on a small cloud that drizzled snow onto the floor gracefully, " **Of course, Naruto. What's bothering you?** "

Naruto crossed his legs and rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Well, I was using that spar as a way to work my body and everything physically is fine. The problem I ran into was my inability to mold elemental chakra. I can feel it inside me, but I can't generate it like I used to. Not even my natural affinity would mold properly. I didn't dare try any techniques in case it was dangerous."

" **I can answer that little bro.** " Kyu said before stalking out of his grassy bed toward Naruto. When he got close enough he rubbed the bottom of his chin against the top of Naruto's head gently before taking a seat beside him, " **When Shinigami sent us both here, she neglected to tell us that our bodies would change physically. To maintain the balance of this world, we had to become subjected to this world's rules. Your natural chakra that you use for clones, shape manipulation, and any non elemental techniques is what these people refer to as magical energy. While most humans here do not know that they possess it until they cast their spells, all of them have reserves of basic magic power. Because you know how to access yours, you do not need the aid of their silly technology to sense it.**

 **Humans generate a basic pool of magic within them, and like our home world many do not train it and are unfit to perform complex spell work. For instance, a civilian would hardly be able to harness an E rank shape manipulation, while several of the SeeD in your academy have the potential to successfully split into at least one copy. They rely too heavily on outside sources, and therefore will never be able to handle anything more than C rank techniques. I believe that your training, as well as having been my container for so long, has ensured that your magical power far surpasses that of others. This is also why you are the first human to fully bond with the Gods of this land for centuries. In order to call them to your aid fully, you would need an incredibly large source of raw magical power. Once again, you're either the luckiest bastard alive, or doomed.** "

Naruto did not find that as funny as his brother did, evident by his facial expression while watching the giant fox roll around cackling like some evil witch in a fairy tale. Shiva fought down her desire to smile even as she choked back several laughs with the help of coughing. This did not fool the ex shinobi. The straw that broke the camel's back was when he heard Raikiri chuckle once. Brow twitching, Naruto stood up, bowed, and vanished as he let his hold on the mindscape sever.

* * *

As Naruto's world came back into focus he heard the sound of banging. He turned around looking for the source, and found that someone was beating on his door rather heavily. Feeling frustrated from being mocked by all three of his supposed friends, he was in no mood for shenanigans and stomped over to the door. Ripping it open he yelled out rather angrily, "Okay, who the fuck is trying to break my door down!?"

A pair of bodies fell into his room making him jump back to avoid being hit. The thud of their fall was followed by two loud yelps of pain and surprise. The collective shuffling and rushing of the two intruders scrambling to their feet took a few moments considering how intertwined the two had been. Naruto watched as the pair came into view and he scowled a little. They were a male and female, the male being his odd swordsman room mate who loved trench coats and hair gel. His flushed face was smeared with lip stick and his usually slicked back hair was in shambled. Amusingly, his high collar did nothing to hide the huge love mark that his lady friend had given him.

His lady friend was a cutie, though not overly beautiful by any means. She had shoulder length black hair that hung straight down her shoulders and back. She was sporting a pretty blue outfit that looked fit for mobility in combat, but judging by her physique she wasn't a melee fighter by any means. Her face was beet red and she was hiding behind the trembling shoulder of her boy toy. Naruto wondered who she was, but at the same time he really didn't give a rat's ass. They had been using his door as some kind of… sex bed or something! He had enough of this shit back when he was traveling with the pervert and he wasn't about to put up with it now!

"You two got some kind of death wish or something? In a school full of fucking trained assassins and soldiers you go around dry humping against random strangers' doors!?" Naruto yelled angrily while comically waving his fist in the air.

Seifer found his voice after a moment and his anger was very apparent, "The hell are you to talk to me like that you jerk!?"

"I'm the guy living in here you moron! Now get out of my room before I sick my brother on you! He eats people to get the taste of morning out of his mouth!" Naruto was actually shooing the two of them out of his room like an old lady trying to rid her kitchen of a disobedient cat.

"You bastard, I ought to kick your ass for speaking to us like this! It's not our fault, we didn't know you would be in here right now, its dinner time for fuck's sake!" Seifer said indignantly while his hands clenched to resist grabbing his sword.

Naruto glared holes through the blonde pretty boy before looking at the young lady who shrunk even further behind her mate, "Look kiddo, I'm not upset with you. This gorilla you were humping is the one who didn't think about his roommate before using said roommate's bedroom door for play time."

"The fuck is a gorilla?! That sounds an awful lot like an insult to me, you fuck!" Seifer was really getting annoyed now and began to charge up a Firaga spell in his left hand.

A sudden chill filled the room and soon their breaths could be seen. Naruto felt a sudden pull on his chakra and then glanced down at his watch to see it glowing brightly. The wall at the back of the room froze over slowly starting at the floor and forming a sheet of ice the side of a door. When the ice had finished forming it shone brightly and sparkled before the very familiar form of Shiva walked out looking incensed. Naruto cursed inwardly thinking that she was there to tell him off for leaving the way he did. Her face was so stern and angry that he felt like running, but then he noticed her gaze on Seifer. Said pretty boy blonde looked absolutely terrified.

" **The use of level three magic on Garden grounds outside of authorized training grounds is prohibited, Seifer Almasy. As Disciplinary Squad Captain, I would think that you know the penalty is expulsion. If you wish to remain in this Garden, then I suggest you rethink your underhanded maneuver immediately.** " Shiva warned slowly, a threatening bite in her tone.

Seifer swallowed a lump in his throat and even if he hadn't wanted to, the magic dissipated and his hand relaxed. There was no way in hell he was about to stand defiant in the face of a GF, especially Shiva. Considering his options carefully, a full retreat was in order. He took the hand of his sweet heart and quickly exited the room. Naruto and the raven haired Barbie doll exchanged one last curious glance before his bedroom door slid shut behind the clumsy lovers. Naruto felt his body relax instantly, and he fell on his butt on the edge of his bed. Shiva rushed over to him and got on her knees in front of him. Icy clouds of cool air seemed to trace her movements, and soon his floor froze in a small circle around her knees. A moment later her cold hands touched his cheeks and her icy blue eyes were searching him over.

" **Naruto, are you all right? After you left I was worried you were really upset so I might have been doing a little spying and saw the situation. I wouldn't have intervened, but he was preparing a very strong fire attack that could have injured you badly. If he had touched you I would have frozen him to the bottom of the ocean near Trabia.** " Shiva fussed while continuing to search him over for anything out of place, even going so far as to check his feet.

Naruto jerked his feet away from her when he felt her fingers spreading his toes and he stammered out his reply, "I-I'm fine, he didn't get the chance to come at me. I would have been ready for him though, so you shouldn't worry so much. And stay away from my feet, that's weird… and I am ticklish."

Something in the way Shiva's eyes lit up from that small tidbit made the blonde want to kick his own ass, " **I'm happy that you weren't harmed. The way you left… I didn't want that to be the last memory we all had of each other. I apologize if I upset you. Brother Kyu assured me that you wouldn't be mad for long, but I wanted to be sure.** " She said while placing her hands in her lap and looking down a little.

Naruto hated to see a cute girl so down and he felt an incredible wave of guilt overwhelm him, "Oi, listen, it's all good. I was annoyed, not mad. See, all smiles and rainbows, right?"

Shiva looked up to see her summoner putting on a rather amusing face. He had his mouth spread in a very large grin with all of his teeth glaring like twinkle lights. His hands were up in peace signs while his hair had suddenly taken on a rather busy and thick texture with rainbow colors streaking through it. His cerulean eyes opened a little and he winked in an exaggerated way that finally made her giggle. Seeing her down cast mood break away he relaxed and took off the small henge that he had placed on his hair. Shiva watched his hair shift and shimmer while it changed and soon she floated up into the air to examine it closer. A gentle hand stroked through the thick locks and Naruto blushed, struggling with himself for some reason. Luckily the ice deity didn't notice.

" **That was a strange spell; I couldn't detect a fluctuation in your magical energy at all. Not even as it faded did I feel anything. What was it called, Naruto?** " She asked in genuine curiosity while she inspected his hair further, selfishly enjoying the feel of it warming her normally cold skin.

Naruto swallowed to steady his speech while he enjoyed the slightly intimate touch that he had often seen other boys getting from their lovers back home. This was one of those moments when he cursed his lack of social growth early in his life. Without a mother he had no idea how to interact with women outside of the fantasies of perverted bastards. Because of this, physical contact terrified him to a certain extent. One woman had been able to get close to him, and he had hoped to gain her favor so that he could approach her with questions and learn how to behave with women. Alas, that never came to pass, and he was stuck with confused feelings like he was having now. The only difference between this time and the times before when woman had gotten this close… he hadn't pushed Shiva away in a fit of confused anger.

"It's an illusionary technique used by my home world to blend in with others or take the place of important people. One moment I could be an unassuming guard, the next I could be a dancer in the daimyo's court entertaining dignitaries while working to gather intelligence." Naruto explained, and was both relieve and disappointed when the hand that had been… petting?... him stopped.

Shiva stopped and tilted her head to the side, " **A dancer? You, a dancer for a… daymeow or whatever? You're plenty handsome, but don't people like that usually swing the straight and narrow?** "

Ignoring the compliment because he had a feeling that she was just trying to rile him up, he instead answered her question, "You would be right. I can change my appearance to any shape I like. I once even changed myself into a weapon. An attack I developed to go along with… my mask… had been centered around becoming an overly attractive naked woman that would distract, or even incapacitate, men."

" **Naruto, when you say your mask, what do you mean exactly?** " She asked innocently while floating down slowly to take her place on the floor again.

Naruto's eyes dulled a little, "I don't want to talk about it, if you don't mind."

A cold blue hand settled on one of his own in a comforting gesture that made Naruto look up into intense icy eyes that seemed to be looking into him rather than at him, " **It's okay, Naruto. I will wait until you are ready to talk and not a moment sooner. But I do want to listen to more of your story some day.** "

The pair exchanged a smile before Naruto watched the icy goddess fade away along with all the ice that had formed around his room. The exception was a patch of ice on the wall that stood strong before changing into the shape of an elegant mirror. Naruto recognized this as a gift, and he had a good feeling that she would be using it to spy on him more easily. Regardless, it was a beautiful ice construct that he would gladly keep close. He sat in the quiet of his room for a moment content to just relax… until he heard the sound of creaking bed springs from the room beside his own. Naruto nearly bloodied his own nose from the force of his face palm.

* * *

After beating a hasty retreat from his dorm room, Naruto had decided to grab dinner before the Cafeteria closed. He was pretty lucky to arrive about five minutes before they would stop hanging out meals. The same kindly auntie he had met the other day greeted him and then immediately scolded him for skipping meals. He begged her forgiveness and promised to come back and have at least two meals a day from then on. This was enough for her to accept his apology with a motherly smile… before hanging him a heaping pile of vegetables, red meat, and some steamed rice. Naruto thanked her with a nervous laugh and then sat down at one of the empty tables to have his meal in peace.

The food was pretty good, but he bet that the other options were more flavorful. This meal was packed with carbohydrates, protein, and a slew of other things he had never really cared to study. It was a punishment meal, and no one could convince him otherwise. Regardless, he ate without complaint and busied himself by taking out the magazine that he had neglected to touch since it had been unsealed. The cover was covered with article tidbits that teased the reader to try and seduce them into finding the full stories within the pages. Naruto had never been big on reading, much less with tabloid garbage, so he focused on searching the references for any interesting weapons that he could order. He found that the booklet was based primarily on beginner gear, aka crap. It was all easy to use, easy to maintain, and was only good for hunting monsters.

He had considered the many weapons that he had seen around the Garden and there was only one group he wanted to inspect. He found the section he was looking for and flipped through the pages until he found them: Gunblades. The strange handles he had seen were based on firearms, and their function was intriguing. The models Seifer and Leon used were the two largest. Each was equipped with a firearm called a revolver. Unlike actual guns, these swords did not fire bullets. Instead, they were filled with explosive ammo shots that were meant to send vibrations through the blade. The high frequency vibrations were ideally supposed to improve cutting power and penetration. The flash of fire during the shots also had the added bonus of momentary blindness and in very rare cases burn damage. The oversized kitchen knives were beautiful and deadly, but they weren't Naruto's style. Plus, those two seemed to have a lot of pride in their weapons, so copying them would only stir up trouble. He turned a few pages searching for something that might interest him when he finally saw them.

Under the small arms category of the Gunblades section he found blueprints for a set of twin daggers. They were designed with slim handles wrapped in tight black leather. The blades were thin and about as long as his kunai and double edged for versatility and ease of use. They favored a reverse grip fighting style, and their gun aspect enhanced their defensive capabilities unlike their much larger brother Gunblades. The firearm used was based on the nine millimeter semi automatic pistol and had been build directly into the handle with the small barrel opening concealed until activated. With the flick of the safety, the handle would split revealing its secret gun function, and squeezing the handle would activate the shot. In theory, when using the daggers in a reverse grip to block sword strikes the user could use the gun to blast at the offending blade and force the opponent to stagger. This was supposed to create opportunities during a melee for hasty and deadly counter strikes. Naruto was no fool, and he could already envision ways to improve the deadliness of these beauties.

"Ah, the rarely seen gun dagger. They have been deemed the most difficult weapon to master. Rumor was they had discontinued them, but their blue prints are still out there." Cid said sagely from the seat across from Naruto making the boy jump.

Headmaster Cid was enjoying a late dinner of tomato bisque with saltine crackers. A small paper cup of tea was steaming by his tray within reach. He had brought a book to read over his meal as well, but had clearly favored the idea of spying on his strange other worldly student. Naruto regained his composure and silently cursed himself for becoming so engrossed in his reading that an old fart could sneak up on him like that. He gave the old man a wry grin before sliding the magazine over slowly.

"What do you think, Old Man? I wanted something no one else around here used." Naruto asked while grinning. He took a few steamed carrots and swallowed them to avoid having to chew the deadly poisonous veggies.

Cid eyed the page innocently while rubbing his chin and nodding sagely, "Very nice indeed. A bit of a risk in battle considering how many people use guns now. Have an answer for situations where melee is impossible?"

"I do, and it isn't magic or summoning. Speaking of, I think you ought to know something about me and GFs that might cause a bit of a stir." Naruto replied while keeping his voice down.

Cid looked at him with a serious gaze and then shook his head, "No, I think you should keep whatever it is to yourself for now. The less people know the better, even me. Should it actually cause trouble, then we will discuss it and figure out how to handle it. Sound good?"

Naruto thought about arguing that it wasn't that big a deal, but then he decided to agree. In his head it sounded like a good idea to keep the old man in the know, considering the trust that the two of them shared now. His trust in the old buzzard had only grown now that he had refused to be told anything about Naruto's abilities. Seeing the logic in it he dropped the subject to return to the more comfortable discussion of weapons. The two finished their meals while hammering out the details of Naruto's weapon choice, and when they parted ways Naruto had been promised his weapons would come in no less than a week.

* * *

"…and that is why knowing one's enemy is one of the most important things on the battlefield." Quistis Trepe was deep into her lecture that she was giving to her class.

Most of her students were relaxing in the grass beneath them and paying very little attention to this review. They had gone over knowing one's enemy a few years back, well most of them did. One student paying absolute attention to the lesson was Uzumaki Naruto. The blonde knucklehead was a dense idiot with many things, but his thirst for knowledge and desire to become stronger were second to none. His sensei was giving a very important lecture on a technique that could instantly inform the user of detailed information on their enemy. Such a thing was unheard of back home, and the methods for gaining such information usually left the target a drooling mess.

Trepe-sensei had chosen to have class outside in the Quad because the technique, or spell as it was called often enough, was called Scan. While useless as an offensive spell, it was highly underestimated by veterans on the battlefield. Instead of relying on memory to keep track of thousands of monsters and machines, Scan was like carrying around your own self searching encyclopedia. Sadly, the spell was not easy to extract from nature and could only commonly be found within low level monsters. That was why the class was sitting in a crowded circle around a cage that contained a gigantic flying bug. Every once in a while Quistis would have to pause her lecture because the monster would hiss and spit loudly in anger.

"Now, it would be a good idea to stock up on Scan while we have this critter under control. Mister Uzumaki, I think now would be a good time to teach you how to Draw properly. I trust that your GFs are Junctioned and ready to help?" Quistis smiled at her fellow blonde while he stood up and dusted off his pants.

"Yeah, I agree, I need to learn how to do this at some point. Give me the detailed, kindergartener rundown please. Leave no details out, this is my first time doing this after all." Naruto asked casually, but making sure to be respectful in tone.

Quistis nodded and heard several students groan in boredom, but they shut up quickly when they heard the clinking of chains, "Now, in order to Draw from anything, you must center yourself and seek out the Draw Point. For monsters it can be difficult the first few times because of their movement. Once you can find the Draw Point, you will your magical energy to attract the magic outside of your body. You will feel it latch on, and that is when you pull it in. Many students use their hands to help focus their magic and guide it. Do not be discouraged if it takes you a long time to do so. What matters is that you try until you succeed."

Naruto nodded and faced the cage with the oversized fly. The buzzing it made as damn annoying, but he decided to ignore it if he could. His eyes closed and he brought his left hand to his chest in a half-ram seal. Many students watching were confused with his strange hand position, but none voiced their opinions. Meanwhile, Naruto was pushing his chakra out in very controlled bursts seeking the network of the large bug. The constant movement was certainly a pain in the ass, but he was slowly getting used to seeking it out. And then he felt it, his chakra slammed into the chakra of the fly, and he pulled it toward himself. Several students gasped.

"Oh my…" Quistis said from beside him.

Naruto cracked open one eye slowly and regretted it. The monster was laying on the floor of the cage, clearly dead. Quistis used her whip to try and encourage movement, but the body was limp and already dissolving as monster bodies often did. None of the students could say a word, and a few of them looked a little green. A Draw wasn't supposed to kill, it wasn't even supposed to cause pain. Naruto looked sheepish as he rubbed the back of his head. He didn't laugh though, because frankly there wasn't anything funny about killing an innocent monster that had been brought in as a guinea pig. Monster or not, if it had no attacked the Garden then this was just wrong. Finding his voice, he decided to ask something to get the class back on track.

"Sensei… I'm sorry about that. I think I did it right, but from the looks I am getting something clearly went very wrong." Naruto tried to play the innocent kid and get the class out of their shock.

Quistis snapped out of her thoughts and glanced at Naruto curiously before replying, "You did nothing wrong, Mister Uzumaki. Your draw seemed spot on until… it somehow went overboard. To make it simple, you seemed to have drawn not only the spell, but the entire magical energy pool. You are not to use Draw on any other student or instructor until we know more about what happened. Am I understood?"

Naruto was quick to nod and bow at the hip a few times out of slight embarrassment, "Yes, yes sensei, I wouldn't want to cause anyone undue harm. I will try to figure out what happened as soon as possible."

Seeing his sensei relax a little Naruto went back to his seat. All eyes were on him watching his every move. One particular set of dark eyes was narrowed in a calculative look. Leon was not someone easily impressed by anyone, especially his fellow students. He had admitted that his instructors were very knowledgeable and strong. He had begrudgingly accepted that Seifer, however much of an ass hole the blonde could be, was exceptional with his blade skills. But this was something he had never seen before. It was not uncommon for a particularly gifted student to Draw larger quantities of spells from monsters, especially those in the Magical Major program. To draw the entire magical essence out of something… enough to kill a small monster… that was not possible.

And then there was the whole GF situation that had come up the other day. Accidentally gaining the favor of a GF in passing was not uncommon, much like the ability to draw large quantities of spells. Guardians were fickle creatures of pure magic. They were above human existence and understanding in many ways, but one fact had been nailed down. GFs didn't roam too far from their home. That being said, how the hell did this wild card suddenly show up with Shiva's blessings before he could even be registered into the Garden properly? Leon was sure he had never been to the Garden before, and he was even more sure that this kid had never lived in Balamb or on their small island nation in general. This Uzumaki guy had even been rumored to have been found by SeeD on the road between the Garden and the town in a bloody heap. It was like some twisted Humpty Dumpty story where no one thought they would be able to put him back together. Over night, he was back to normal.

Life magic was good, but that was a God damned miracle. Even the use of highly expensive healing tonics and potions wouldn't set bones back properly, and scarring was unavoidable. Leon's thoughts drifted back to the GFs, and to the mysterious one the boy had registered. Its name was strange and hard to pronounce with his tongue. A foreign language? That couldn't be possible… Leon was able to speak fluently in all known languages as part of his SeeD schooling. The whole thing was frustratingly… troublesome.

While Leon was caught in his own world, Naruto was seated in a lotus position to calm his body and mind. He couldn't go to the mindscape to speak with Kyu or the others due to his class mates watching him. Cursing his luck, he just focused on quieting his mind. He never expected to hear a melodious voice drifting through his mind calling out to him.

" _ **Naruto, can you hear me now?** "_

'… _What the fuck?'_

" _ **Language! Ahem, Naruto, can you hear me properly? It's me, Shiva. I am using a method to speak to your mind that brother Kyu taught to me and Raikiri.** "_

' _Shiva? How is this possible? Kyu could do this because he had been a part of me after his sealing.'_

" _ **Well, in a way, Raikiri and I are a part of you now, and Kyu of course. It is hard to explain, but because we have bonded with you fully, a small part of our life force has been stored into you. Remember, you do not have a mere blessing like other humans, you have a full bond, a true bond. What limits others have means nothing to you.** " _Shiva said rather proudly.

' _Okay… I don't understand completely, but that can wait. For now I have a problem that I would like you and the others to help me with. I used Draw to collect the essence for the Scan spell, but when I pulled my chakra back it stole all of the essence within the bug and it died. I never had to do anything like this back home and I am freaking out a little.'_

There was silence for a long while within Naruto's mind so he chose to take this time to listen to the lecture again. Because the bug had been killed, Trepe-sensei had moved on to the proper way of casting the Scan spell. It was a rather simple spell which needed very little power. The true problem was the focus needed to perform it. She explained that in battle situations the designated spell caster or long range weapons specialist would often be the one to use Scan while his or her team would keep the enemy at bay. Naruto was briefly reminded of the famous Team Ino-Shika-Cho formation back home. Heavy duty blocker, medium range support to capture, and then the long range finisher to subdue the enemy's mind. He imagined a scenario where he placed himself at the mid range using ninja wire to capture an enemy that had been distracted by mister happy hands Zell, giving Trepe-sensei time to cast Scan since her whip had a good range of attack.

" _ **Naruto, you idiot, it's me, Kyu.** "_

Naruto's eye twitched but never opened, _'You dumb fur ball, I was just getting used to not having to hear that gruff voice of yours giving me a headache.'_

Kyu laughed a loud and rough laugh that rumbled in Naruto's head, _" **You will never change, and I love it! Back to business you bratty kit. I think I may have an answer to your problem, but you aren't going to like it.** "_

' _I never do, just get it out. No sugar coating it bro.'_ Naruto thought with a grim expression on his face that a few students nearby noticed and suddenly became nervous of.

" _ **Well… it's your chakra control.** "_

Naruto's loud exclamation of a word that represented the intimacy between two consenting adults could be heard throughout the entire Garden. Even Cid had been startled by it, and promptly dropped one of his favorite trading card into a bowl of spicy chili that he had snuck into his office. His response of the exact same word echoed nearly as loudly. The sound broke the concentration of one particularly busy blonde who had been busy applying some protection for his secret sword. Something that had been meant for the raven haired cutie beside him in his bed happened prematurely when his hand had jumped. The third and final proclamation of that four-lettered word was enough to shatter the windows of several shops in the town of Balamb.

* * *

Night had fallen in the Village of Konoha, but there was hardly anyone out that night. It had been several days since Jiraiya had returned to Konoha with the disguised toad, and due to a particularly loudmouthed Inuzuka brat, the entire village had heard of the untimely death of Uzumaki Naruto at the hands of his irresponsible teacher. If anyone had said that the village would mourn the death of such a loud, obnoxious idiot ten years prior, most people would have laughed. After Naruto's actions during and after the Chuunin Exams, many had changed their minds about him, especially among the Shinobi Corps. What had truly changed everything however, was the announcement of his death the morning after the news had come. Most knew he had died already, but the announcement also revealed several truths about the blonde that had shocked most, if not all of those who heard the Hokage speak.

Tsunade had had enough of keeping secrets that hurt the boy. She would not have his death celebrated by the masses of ignorant fools that she had the displeasure of calling her own. She spoke of his father and mother first, to reveal his noble and proud lineage for all to hear. There were a precious few who knew, and they took a certain satisfaction out of seeing the anguished and suffering faces of the guilty that had treated Naruto so harshly. The most satisfying look was worn by one Umino Iruka, who stood among the other instructors from the academy. The looks on their faces for having played a hand in his lack of basic training and preparation for the harsh world he lived in were priceless. Their regret would never bring the knucklehead back, but he hoped his little buddy was smiling down in his prankster way.

The Hokage went on to reveal the harsh truth of Naruto's fate. How the Fourth had had to make three of the greatest sacrifices that anyone could to protect these shameful people. His wife gave her life to protect them by aiding in the sealing and protecting her baby so that the beast would have no chance to escape a second time. The Fourth then had to submit his son to a life of hatred and despair that he would have no way of stopping because he could never have asked another to do such a terrible thing. And finally he had to give his soul to the heartless mercy of the Shinigami, who promptly ate it as payment for her assistance. All knew what such a fate held for anyone unlucky enough to submit to it.

No parties were held, not even in honor of their lost shinobi. The news had been sobering and broke so many of the people of their disillusionment that the guilt seemed to build like a dense fog over the entire village.

Only a single soul was out and about on such a night. The Great and Powerful Super Pervert Jiraiya was walking away from the hot springs with a depressed expression on his face. Was it because of his student's death, or whatever happened to Naruto? No, that wasn't it. He had found no women bathing in the springs this evening and he had been denied the sight of their glorious assets in the thick steamy water. He had tried to get himself a drink earlier, but the damned bars had all been closed early for some reason. It just wasn't a good night for the legendary sage. He turned a corner to head back to his hotel and maybe satisfy himself alone, but then he felt something prick his neck. He was confused until his eyes began to blur and he cursed. Whatever poison they had used was one he had no resistance to, so he was at his attacker's mercy. The last thing he saw were several sets of sandaled feet landing around, one of which had… purple nail polish?

Whether it was several hours, days, weeks, or just a couple minutes, Jiraiya was painfully aware of his current position. First off, he was blindfolded, which unless he was in bed was not a good thing. The next thing he felt were chains, chakra siphoning chains at that. He tried to use one of his escape techniques and discovered that he had little chakra at all, only enough to stay alive. Even a man with many more muscles than his old body would not be able to simply break solid chains. As he came to terms with his situation, he heard a door creak open. The sound was grating on the ears and he knew it was a torture tactic due to his many years of spy work. The voice he heard next was one he didn't expect, though it did send a shiver down his spine for some reason.

"Ohh, you're awake, Jiraiya- _Sama_." Kakashi said in his lazy tone, though he emphasized the –Sama a little.

Jiraiya snapped his head back and forth nervously while trying to keep his cool, "Kakashi, what the hell is going on here?"

"Hmm? What is this? Are you feeling a little worried? A little nervous? A little… scared, maybe?" Kakashi spoke slowly, each word pronounced without an ounce of laziness.

Jiraiya was most definitely not enjoying this, and to be honest he was feeling pretty anxious without his chakra, "This is treason, Kakashi. I don't know what you are planning, but this will not go unpunished."

"I can sense it… you know I have been trained by my ninja dog summons to smell certain scents. Emotions release chemicals into the brain from several different glands, and they leave a byproduct in the sweat. The easy ones are lust… anger… and fear." The cold steel of a senbon needle caressed the skin of Jiraiya's neck, the sharp point just barely catching here and there leaving small lines like paper cuts, "Can you smell fear, Jiraiya- _Sama…_ could you smell it on him that day? Did you smell the salt of his tears? Did you hear his fear in his voice as he begged you… his sensei… to stop?"

Jiraiya was breathing a little harder as he felt a dread. He tilted his head to try and avoid the sharp needle so close to vitals. He wanted to speak, but his voice just wouldn't come. He was at this man's mercy.

"Anko, try not to cut him up so badly with that needle. We still have questions for him." Kakashi said, his lazy tone back as he addressed the Special Jonin.

Jiraiya felt a tongue lick at his neck where the small cuts had been made, and he normally would have been thrilled, but he knew who this woman was. She was the whore who had served his traitor team mate. He would never allow this woman to get to him.

"His blood is disgusting, you can taste the taint of his whore mongering." Anko complained casually while spitting twice to clear her mouth of the offending taste.

"You are one to talk you snake bitch." Jiraiya was able to say before feeling his hair being yanked roughly, his neck straining over the tip of the back of his chair.

Anko growled rather harshly, and seemed to hiss out the words she spoke next, "Do not tempt me to show you how much of a bitch I can be, you disgusting piece of garbage. I always thought you were better than my old master. I didn't think that you would sink so low…"

Jiraiya, despite his position, snarled angrily at the woman though he wasn't too sure where to face his head, "You fucking bitch… I am nothing like that traitorous snake!"

"Oh yeah, you bastard?! He took me in, made me his student, and then trained me to be the best I could be. I loved him and trusted him like the father that I never had… and then he used me to experiment on like a fucking guinea pig! He gained my trust, and then stabbed me in the back for personal gain! What the fuck did you do, huh? You took little Naru away from his village to train him to be the best, you gained his trust which was something he gave almost no one! And then you… you…" Anko couldn't finish her sentence because she roared out in anger to hide her tears.

Kakashi watched from the side with shadowed eyes. Anko didn't cry, not for herself, not for anyone. Naruto had been one of the very few people to actually like the woman for her strange quirks, instead of judge her on word of mouth from others. Kakashi had known about their similar backgrounds and knowing his former student he knew the boy would surprise her. To see her that upset was heartbreaking. Hearing the stories lined up like his, to see the parallels… Kakashi felt sympathy for the tormented woman. His lone lazy eye looked around the room at each of the other Jonin present. This interrogation wasn't sanctioned, nor was it particularly well hidden. Nearly every Jonin sensei in active duty had come to provide assistance and bear witness.

It was a little known fact that Jonins who became sensei to Genin became a brotherhood. To be trusted with the lives of the younger generations was a great responsibility that all Jonin sensei shared with each other. On the surface it seemed simple, with teams occasionally backing each other up or training side by side to gauge their skills in competition. In reality, Jonin sensei often took their students to others for specialized training and advice. Like a father taking his son to an uncle for a lesson on fishing, Kakashi had planned on taking Naruto aside to meet the Jonin sensei of Team Ten for help with his wind affinity. In return he had been planning on helping Shikamaru, the only Chuunin on their team back then, with his leadership skills.

For the Jonin present in this room, the act of betraying the trust of your student was the most grievous of crimes. The bloodlust in the room was nearly as thick as the gloom outside. Kakashi stepped forward into the center of the room where a single bright light was shining down on the prisoner. Anko was still trembling with unsuppressed rage and anguish. Her usually flawless coquettish make up was running in her tears and her teeth were grinding so loudly he could hear it.

"Jiraiya… I have always tried to teach people that those who abandon their mission are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are even worse than trash. Do you know what is worse than, worse than trash? Its someone like you who would abuse a trusting student for the sake of personal gain. I may have been a poor sensei to Naruto and his team, but I would never have hurt any of them like you hurt him."

Jiraiya felt a kunai press against his naked thigh which told him that he was naked, or at least in a state of sever undress. The cool steel of the blade sent a burst of white hot pain through his body as it sliced a shallow cut into him. Hissing in pain, he was surprised when the needle at his throat pushed into a pressure point that immobilized his entire body. Every muscle was tensed, and every one of his senses seemed to heighten. The pain became exponentially worse and he felt tears forming in his eyes as he struggled against the strange hold on his body.

"This pressure point Anko-San likes to use will cause all of your muscles to become tense and unmoving. As an added effect, she placed a very special toxin on the tip of the needle that increases the effectiveness of your sense of touch, taste, and smell. For the next one hundred and twenty eight hours we are going to be having a very important discussion with you. Afterward, we will start the actual questioning. If you think that you can wait us out… I would like to inform you that we have all the time in the world." Kakashi whispered into the older man's ear.

Jiraiya's screams would never be heard outside the small room that used to be Naruto's living room. With the building under quarantine, and several silencing seals in place around the structure, even the ANBU stationed in the area were blissfully unaware of the hellish torture of Jiraiya of the Sennin.

* * *

 _ **Happy Thanksgiving my lovely senpais. I hope you enjoy this chappie. Relationships develop between characters and we even get another peek back home. I'll be posting a poll soon about the Naruto Pairing situation. Go and vote if you see something you like, and suggest anything that you don't! I love to see you all get involved in the story!**_

 _ **Hope people like the comedy between Naruto and Seifer, and also the little add-on with Cid. And I know people might not approve of the sneak peek at a certain raven haired hime, but come on, it is a full month before the exams and we all know those two were a thing before stuff happened. Wouldn't be weird for her to come visit since here is a train that goes between the continents. Anyway, love you all.**_

 _ **Don't be afraid to curse at things, especially your tangled underpants.**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Howdy senpais, it is I, the idiot who likes to write with lots of cursing! I certainly hope you enjoyed the comedy of last chapter, and I got a few positive reviews so I am fairly certain it went over well. This chapter will have a bit of character development, and some action. In future battles that include more characters, I promise there will definitely be more to enjoy. If I did poorly describing anything in the fight scenes, let me know for sure, and give advice to boot!**_

 _ **To those who love the scenes back in Konoha, this chapter doesn't include one, so sorry in advance! They aren't gone forever, just taking time to develop more in Gaia. I have so many ideas about what to do in Konoha, but I still want to hear those suggestions. (no, I will not have any of the girls back home coming through the portal to engage Naruto in romantic interests, he will be hooking up with someone from his new home for sure, still not set on who, but as you will read the race for his heart is on whether the girls know it or not!)**_

 _ **Will certain characters be receiving a chance at redemption? Not sure, but two for sure are set to never be given a chance, I am sure you can guess who they are.**_

 _ **By the way, the Naruto's Sweetheart Poll is up on my profile, and no it is not called that, even though I wish I had thought of that at the time, fucking hindsight… (You guys have been awesome, keep voting! Current leader is Shiva!)**_

 _ **If your favorite honey bun isn't up there, feel free to drop a suggestion in the Reviews section, or message me!**_

 _ **One last thing before your kohai shuts the hell up. I ran into a huge issue with my Word program that stopped showing spelling and grammar errors, it even stopped the built in checker from finding things. So, the second half of the chapter may or may not be a shit storm of errors due to lack of sleep and an over abundance of decaf coffee doing nothing to help me. Be gentle with your flame whips if you get irritated or irate because of the possible error storm. Just remember that kohai Garnetio will always love you, even if love hurts.**_

* * *

 **One Month After Naruto's Arrival…**

"Good, well done. Again!"

The sound of heavy impacts echoed across the Quad loudly and rapidly, as if someone were taking a jackhammer to the walk ways. In less than a minute several dozen loud poundings had happened and suddenly silenced, before a louder thud would echo accompanied by the painful yelp of a males voice. Several students were watching the strange sight with interest, though most were a bit terrified of what they were watching. The quick impacts were the sound of furious fists and feet trying desperately to break past the guard of another. The offender was the school's resident hot dog addict and future super hero, martial arts master Zell Dincht. Dressed in the Garden uniform that he had modified by cutting the jacket and slacks arms and legs short, the blonde brawler was currently sprawled out on the ground on his back heaving for air. Strapped to his legs were solid bars of metal with carvings etched into their polished fronts. At least ten bars to each foot were all connected by chains and fastened with heavy duty locks. Similar bars were strapped onto his forearms near his wrists. Those too had strange etchings that matched their brothers on his legs. What truly made the sight something to witness were the four small craters in the ground where those peculiar accessories struck the ground.

Another blonde male walked over and crouched over the fighter with a grin on his face. Dressed in the school uniform as he normally was, he had a strange bag on his belt and a holster of some kind on his right leg. His hands were covered in fingerless gloves that went right up his wrists to vanish into his sleeves. He offered his hand to the grounded blonde who took the hand slowly, struggling for some reason. The two spoke then, but the nearby students couldn't hear much of anything.

"Damn bro, you're getting pretty fast with that weight on you. I give it another month and you'll be ready for an increase." Naruto said proudly before slapping Zell on his back, causing the bulkier teen to almost fall over.

Zell maintained his balance with the help of Naruto before replying in a slightly haggard voice, "Yeah well… I still can't believe how heavy these things are. I mean, fuck! I can't believe the Garden doesn't provide this kind of equipment to train. When I take these off at night to rest my body I feel light as a feather."

"I told you I would hook you up. I still remember when I learned about these from old Bushy Brows. I developed my own little Uzumaki flair for these though, considering I never had much money to really get the materials for anything else." Naruto said while rubbing his chin and observing the seal work for any damage.

"I will be happy to take a break from these during the Field Exam tomorrow. What do you think it will be?" Zell asked while using a towel to dry his face and arms.

Naruto was cleaning his ear casually while eyeing the students who had stopped to watch them, "No idea honestly, I just hope it's something with some action. Slaughtering monsters all day is fun and all, but fighting in an organized operation will be a real workout."

"Damn blood thirsty slave driver… did you at least stop procrastinating and go do the Prelim exam over at the Fire Cavern?" Zell asked while tossing his towel over his shoulder and heading for the Garden main building.

"I was actually going to head over there now after our sparring session. Trepe-sensei said she would be overseeing my Prelim even though I told her I would be fine running it solo." Naruto replied while walking beside the buff teen.

Zell looked at Naruto with a confused expression, "You realize how dangerous the Fire Caverns are right? Instructor Trepe said only SeeD members are even allowed in there outside of exams. I know you've got some serious skills, but I know from experience that place is no picnic. I would tell ya more, but it's against the rules of the exams and I could get deductions if I am caught cheating. Sorry bro…"

Naruto waved his hand dismissively while smiling at his big buddy, "Cool it man, it's all good! I want to see you get that high rank you want. Don't say anything! The real thrill will be the mystery of it all. Thanks for the warnings though, I promise to take this seriously."

Zell smiled at the reassurance that his newest friend would try his best. If Zell were being honest with himself, he didn't have many friends at the Garden. If he had to guess how people viewed him, it would be an annoyance. He was loud, obnoxious, and damned sexy. Obviously both women and men would find him hard to handle! Still, even if he understood why, it didn't make the end result any easier to handle. Part of being in SeeD was about teaming up with others, and at the point her was now, he only had a few acquaintances. He would fight by the side of any loyal member of Balamb SeeD until his last breath… but could he trust them? Hell, could he trust Naruto even?

He glanced over at Naruto as they entered the main central hall. The strange guy high fived a couple of students who were jogging around the walk ways and gave them a strange cheer that motivated them to cheer right back. Zell couldn't help the smile that turned into a full on grin. The guy was a damn knucklehead for sure, but he seemed to inspire everyone he met. Naruto never asked for much, but he would offer assistance to pretty much anyone. Zell briefly remembered a young girl with strange hair that bumped into them right after class a week prior. She had given them some weird story about being a transfer student who was lost or whatever. Zell had told her that he was on his way to lunch to try and get a hot dog for once. Naruto though… he leapt to the opportunity to help out the energetic girl.

Naruto had been spending an hour every evening since then attending meetings for the outdoor event scheduled in the Quad for… whenever they could get enough volunteers.

"Yo, Zell, you go ahead and get a damn shower, you smell like a horse's mouth after they died. I'll see you after I ace this Prelim!" Naruto called out while he walked off toward the entrance.

Zell laughed out loud before cupping his mouth to yell back, "Screw you, ice fox! Don't forget to get your congratulatory kiss from your Ice Queen!"

Naruto shook his head as he smirked and heard laughter from both the ground floor and the upper floor, ' _I am going to get you for that you fisting loving bastard…'_

"Mister Uzumaki, you're early. Aren't you going to dress in something a little less formal for this?" Quistis asked from her spot leaning against the large map display.

Naruto looked the instructor over with an approving eye. She was dressed in the loudest color he had seen since he ditched his old jump suit. He thought of the color of fresh salmon as he examined her vest and skirt. Her hair was in the same style as always with a silver comb. She wore boots that had matching arm warmers. Her vest just happened to end a little higher than needed so that her midriff was shown off. Kunoichi back home would have approved of the flexibility and adaptability of the outfit, but not the color for sure. As a mercenary that would not be going on many infiltration or assassination missions, this was a perfect way to distract the boys on the battle field. She still had that damned angelic look about her that Naruto approved of, despite her obvious attempt to spice her wardrobe up a little.

"Trepe-sensei, I am hurt! I thought you liked the way I looked in my uniform. Or is this your subtle attempt to catch me out of uniform…?" Naruto emphasized his scandalous accusation with a wiggle of his brow.

Huffing indignantly at his forward insinuations, Quistis couldn't keep the blush off her cheeks, "I would thank you not to make such bold statements within the Garden, Mister Uzumaki."

Naruto nodded sagely, "Hai, hai, best to save the sweet nothings for our date outside of the Garden."

There was a loud whooshing sound, accompanied by the soft rattling of chains, and then the loudest cliché whip sound effect that anyone had ever heard. The yelp that followed was comically loud, as were the sobs afterward.

Naruto cried anime tears while holding his butt, "How did you even hit my ass when you are standing in front of me?"

"I'm just that good, _sweetie_." Quistis replied in a very sweet and sing song voice, "Now if you are ready, we should head out soon. There are plenty of you slackers who still need to take the Prelim before we leave your sorry butts back here to wait for the next exams."

"Yosh, look out Fire Cavern, Uzumaki Naruto is on his way!" Naruto pounded his chest a few times while striking a heroic pose.

Quistis felt a large sweat drop weigh down her head a little as she stared blankly at the exuberant young man, "Does everything have to be so… theatrical?"

"Trepe-sensei, when you've been through what I have been through, you learn to live every moment with as much enthusiasm and energy as possible. Even if everyone else doesn't understand why, so long as you do, then you can do what you want." Naruto passed by her walking toward the turn styles at the gate while she watched him in shock, and a little admiration.

 _'_ _Just what have you been through, Naruto?'_

* * *

The walk to the Fire Cavern took the pair off the safety of the paved road. Quistis let Naruto take the lead because her observations now would dictate the score she gave toward his total. Naruto led the pair north toward the mountains, which Quistis was curious about. The map she had him download into his watch clearly marked the location for him, so she decided to question him and see whether this was planned or simply a lack of skill with directions.

"Mister Uzumaki…" Quistis began but she was cut off by Naruto suddenly speaking.

"Now now, Trepe-Sensei, we aren't on Garden grounds now. Technically that makes you a regular Seed, so you are allowed to use my given name." He said casually, giving her a smile over his shoulder that he saw made her flush cutely as usual.

Quistis fought back the urge to grab her whip to reprimand him for his teasing tone, "Fine, Naruto, but if that is the case I insist you call me Quistis until we return to the Garden."

"Damn, and I was going to call you hime. Beggars can't be choosers. Oh, of course, it's an honorific anyway, so Quistis-hime it is! Yosh, Uzumaki Naruto can't be denied." Naruto giggled an evil and uncharacteristic giggle that made Quistis worry.

Quistis was silent for a moment trying to overcome her sudden need to whip the boy again, "What does that mean? Hime… it is not a word I recognize. And what are honorifics?"

"Hmm, we have some time until we make it to the Fire Cavern, so I think I can humor you. First of all, let me make it clear that I never studied etiquette or politics back home because I… I never had need for it. What I can tell you is that my old home was all about honor and knowing how to address your betters, as well as those beneath you was very important. Honorifics can range from respectful, to insulting, to affectionate depending on the who and what. For instance, as my instructor you are more skilled, more experienced, and have volunteered to take the responsibility of educating others. Because of those sacrifices that you make, others can grow with confidence and charisma, and this is a very honorable position to take. I call you sensei as a term of both admiration and endearment, because I value your role in my life and everything that you pass on to me greatly."

Quistis was rather taken by the passion with which he spoke his final comment. Taking this position had been her last chance to remain in SeeD and recover without being forced to retire or take leave without pay. Many of the SeeD in the field didn't approve of working as instructors because of the lowered pay grade and lack of action. Of course there were those who simply loved to teach, but she hadn't been as enthused as they were. This was a job, nothing more and nothing less. But now… now Naruto had opened her eyes to what she really meant to her students. Maybe not the damned Trepeies… but the others who took their studies seriously and always asked the right questions in class. The feeling made her smile, and she would never forget the lesson that her student had taught her, even if he were completely unaware.

"The honorific hime is meant as a term of endearment towards girls and women who you care for. It is like calling one princess in your language, but it has a deeper meaning than that. Hime can also often be used as an insult towards men because it is emasculating to call a man a princess, even young boys will be very offended. I prefer the use of teme which roughly translates to calling someone a bastard in your language. Commonly used respectful terms are Sama, which is meant for those of the highest honor, San, which is best used when speaking to peers or those a little above you, and dono, which is often used when speaking to one with great honor that does not hold any political power within your land. Headmaster Cid would be Cid or Headmaster-Sama. The headmaster of Trabia Garden would be dono to us.

In order to be affectionate, one can choose between chan and kun, both of which have many undertones of respect to acknowledge before blabbing one out. Chan is commonly seen as enduring towards people who are younger than you, or at least who you find cute. I often used it without thinking as a younger boy, but none of the girls I ever called chan seemed to mind. Must have been my roguish charm. Kun would never be used on a female by a male unless he wanted to be kicked in the balls. Girls could call other girls kun out of respect for their position, but that wasn't something I heard often. Just once, and it was in a village full of nothing but warrior women. That… was not a pleasant place to be."

Naruto halted his walk a few dozen meters away from the base of the mountain before smiling, "Ah, seems my talk is over for now. I see my target."

Quistis had been lost in thought while trying to process the information she had received. All of it made sense, even if he wasn't that confident in his words. The problem she found was trying to put these language rules into one of the languages she knew. Nowhere on Gaia had she heard such complicated rules of speech. Knowing how to speak to your better was a common sense thing in Gaia and never stressed so adamantly. She was broken from her thought when Naruto made his last statement, and she peeked around his shoulder to see what his target had been.

Floating in the air about two dozen meters away were a group of three Glacial Eyes. The creatures were shaped much like the sting rays of Naruto's world, but their bodies seemed to be made of flexible ice. The steam that trailed off of their spiked tails gave one the impression of hot breath in a winter breeze. Naruto got into a wide stance while preparing his trap in his hands. Quistis peaked around his arm to see what looked like a game of Cat's Cradle going between his fingers. She found the pattern odd but kept her thoughts to herself as she waited for him to make his move. Naruto finished his preparation and then used his hand to gesture a strange pattern of hand signs that she didn't recognize.

From the ground in the center of the three monsters a Naruto clone seemed to appear out of nowhere which startled the beasts and caused them to converge on his location. He gave a wide grin before he slammed three smoke pellets into the grass. The resulting cloud of smoke was large enough to conceal the Glacial Eyes which could be heard roaring in confusion. The original Naruto shot off like a bullet leaving an after image that faded from sight slowly, causing Quistis to gasp. Naruto reappeared in the air above the smoke cloud a second later throwing three Kunai toward the ground. Quistis watched this wondering what he was up to, until she noticed the glint of steel wire. It then dawned on her that he hadn't been playing around; he had been weaving a net!

When the three kunai imbedded into the ground the net crashed into the Glacial Eyes and the smoke was forced from the area to reveal them struggling against the razor sharp netting. When Naruto landed he crouched down by one of the kunai and held a single hand sign, the same he used for Drawing, and suddenly lighting struck the kunai and sent a weak pulse of electricity through the net. The results were a pile of paralyzed beasties with no hope of wiggling free until the charge he put into the wires was depleted. Quistis walked over cautiously while examining the work her student had done. Such a maneuver was unlike anything they taught at the Garden, though it would work well for SeeD members trying to capture live targets.

"That was… impressive, Naruto. I have to ask though, what exactly was that… spell you used to appear in two places at once?" Quistis asked while watching the grounded kunai keep the network of electricity from pulsing toward them.

Naruto scratched his chin and though of how to answer, "Hmm… well, I call it… Copy Cat. It's one of my Limit Breaks that I have been working on."

Quistis wasn't convinced one bit. She remembered the day the class had gone over Limit Breaks and their use on the battlefield. Her Limit Break was her mastery of Blue Magic, which could do practically anything and everything imaginable. If she couldn't make copies of herself, then there was no way this boy could suddenly have such ability without there being some kind of story to it. One thing that really irritated her about Naruto was his inconsistency. As a studious woman, Quistis prided herself on knowing almost everything. Naruto was her kryptonite. One moment she would be sure of what she knew about the boy, and then suddenly he would flip around and do something like this.

"A Limit Break huh… well, if you don't want to tell me then I won't make you. We don't have time for one of our little talks right now. So why did you go to all this trouble to catch a few low level Glacial Eyes?"

Naruto grinned and then looked at the three monsters. He held up a half ram seal and used his chakra to seek them out. As Kyu had so helpfully pointed out to him, his work with chakra control had gone completely to shit. His new magical chakra was much denser, and therefore required a greater control level to use properly. When he used Draw on the fly monster a month prior, he had used too much of his chakra to latch onto the fly, and had unfortunately taken far too much from the little pest. Since then, he had been using his chakra control methods to grind himself into the ground in order to use the technique properly without hurting people. He was fairly confident with his skill considering the number of casualties among monsters he performed Draw on had dropped significantly, but as far as human enemies he would only use it if he knew that taking prisoners was not a possibility.

Three tendrils of his magical energy latched onto the Glacial Eyes and siphoned out several dozen ice magic essence from them. He was sure to cut the connection before he killed any of the monsters, but he could tell that they had been weakened a great deal. He summoned a very weak electrical spell to cancel out the charge on the net and end the paralyzing shocks. Quistis was confused wondering why he would spare the creatures, but he seemed to sense her thoughts before she could even ask.

"Like you said, they are low level. Best just let them go so they can get stronger and be worth the hunt. I just wanted their Blizzard magic essence anyway, yeah?" Naruto had his back to her as he was watching the monsters run away in fear. The breeze blew by and made his hair and clothes move slightly, and for a moment Quistis had the feeling she was looking at some kind of fairy tale hero. A moment later she palmed her face.

 _'_ _Naruto Uzumaki, a hero? God help us all…'_

* * *

"You've got to be kidding. This student hasn't been in the Garden more than a month and you expect us to allow him to take the SeeD exams? This is highly irregular."

Naruto was standing behind Quistis with his arms crossed and an irritated scowl threatening to overtake his face. The trip across the plains to the Fire Cavern had been very smooth sailing. The occasional monster would get close to them to inspect them, but most were very low level so they would scurry away. Naruto had been told that Balamb Garden had been built in the area mainly because of the more docile monsters that would be good for younger students to practice on. The other two Garden academies had been built in more hostile terrain to try and harden their students, but if the results were better that information had been kept from the public. Regardless, Naruto was nothing if not stealthy, so even should they have been threatened, he had a constant clone presence in the area around them acting as scouts and sentries.

Upon arrival, the usual security personnel were stationed to guard the entrance from eager and ambitious youngsters looking to make names for themselves. Naruto had never found the time to sneak in because Kyu and Shiva had been working him to the bone to improve his magical focus, or chakra control if he had anything to say about it. Sure, the world was different from back home, but he would never let go of everything that he knew from back there. Anyway, the damned security people were so freaky to Naruto. They looked like the Akatsuki that Jiraiya had supposedly been preparing him for, but much weaker and with way too much white and purple. Their robes seemed to drag a bit at their feet, but showed no signs of fraying. Then there were those stupid yellow face masks they wore that only really concealed their eyes.

These jokers had been a real pain in his ass when it came to training. He was used to having access to near twenty four hours of time in training fields. If he worked in the Quad, which had started a trend among the students recently so the Quad had become quite popular for physical training, he had to be indoors by eight at night. If he tried to train in the Training Center, he had to deal with very noisy monster battles happening almost constantly around him. He blamed all of his frustration on these freaks and vowed he would be pranking them heavily as soon as he earned his SeeD rank. Speaking of, his current dilemma had been going on for about ten minutes with his instructor trying to convince the two guards of her sincerity. It seemed these men weren't in accord with Headmaster Cid, who had assured Naruto that he would be given opportunity to participate in the exams.

"I assure you that Headmaster Cid has reviewed his files and given permission for him to enter the Exams. I have already shown you the paperwork, and I must insist we hurry this along, because I have several other students to escort here before tomorrow's Field Exam portion." Quistis had lost her angelic tone that made it difficult to respect her, and she was now nearly growling which was very appealing to Naruto. He didn't like pushovers.

"Fine, but this will be reported to our superiors. Select your time and be done with this." The rather cold and arrogant voice the guard used made Naruto want to shove an ice spike up this guy's…

Quistis sighed explosively before straightening up, "We have discussed this already and he has chosen ten minutes."

Both of the guards exchanged a look that told Naruto they were underestimating him. This brought a smile to his face. If there was anything that made Naruto's job easier it was definitely arrogant pricks who thought he wasn't worth much. All those years wearing his mask he had always loved the surprised faces of his enemies and sparring partners when he took things seriously. When he came strolling out of this hell hole in less than ten minutes he would need to grab a camera or something to remember the looks on their faces. Quistis broke him from his thinking with a wave of her hand gesturing into the dark entrance.

* * *

"Damn, this is one fucking hot cave."

Quistis smirked slightly hearing the first of what she knew would be many complaints about the heat. A place doesn't earn a title like Fire Cavern for no reason, and her blonde student was learning very quickly. Just the descent into the dark underground cavern had been a walk through a sauna. Naruto had decided that this cave entrance was more likely a vent for some kind of volcano. As if to pat him on the back, the foreboding orange glow that signified molten rock had slowly crept up the walls as they grew closer to the sub level. Naruto gaped when he saw the literal lake of lava that spat and hissed all around a set of complex walkways that looked artificially made.

"Fuck it's hot." Naruto reiterated while wiping his now soaked brow.

"Lava tends to be pretty hot, Naruto." Quistis replied casually while fighting back a giggle when she saw his puffed cheeks.

Naruto then looked around and followed what looked like a central path, not noticing a pulse of blue light from his watch. Quistis noticed the pulse, but had never seen a Junction Watch behave like that before, so she decided not to mention it in case it distracted him from his mission.

"Why does it have to be so hot?" Naruto griped while leaping from one rock toward another.

Quistis shook her head while sighing, using a nearby path to avoid the hot lava that her student had leapt over. Suddenly she felt her battle sense kicking in so she rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding a blast of fire. A follow up blast of electricity flew directly at her, which she had to endure due to her vulnerable position. As the shock immobilized her, Quistis found enough will power to look up and see a mass of spinning wings and strange appendages around a demonic looking face. She cursed her luck and as soon as the spell effect wore off she leapt athletically backward to escape its range. She knew casting spells on this bastard would be pointless, so she brought out her whip hoping to give this monster a proper lashing.

The beast, known as a Buel, flew in very erratic circles and patterns, making it a difficult target. Naruto was watching the exchange from the shadows so that he could devise a plan. Due to the amount of dangerous molten rock he wouldn't risk using a net trap like he had with the Glacial eyes, and besides that he had seen the level of this particular monster and it wasn't going to submit to any basic elemental spells. His Scan spell had given him enough information to know that the only weapon against this fucker was a good old fashioned ass whooping. He fingered the trigger mechanism in his sleeve, but then decided now wasn't the best time for those. Instead, he summoned a hand full of shuriken between his fingers and waited.

Quistis knew that she was way out of this thing's league, but no amount of experience would save her if she slipped into lava. Cursing the geographical disadvantage, she rolled out of the way of a rather savage looking ice boulder crashing into the ground and scattering melting ice fragments everywhere. Using the momentum of the roll, she loosed her whip in a downward arc that struck the Buel in the face, staggering it a little toward the ground. Taking a moment to focus her strength, a blue hue of light surrounded her off hand before she sent out a spray of searing hot acid. The beast screamed as the liquid seared skin and caused it great pain, but the attack wouldn't bring it down.

Naruto watched the acid do its job and took note of each spot on the monster's thick hide that had been weakened. Naruto leapt out of his hiding spot and fired off several of his shuriken hitting each spot perfectly. The now crippled wings of the monster crumpled from the pain and soon Buel was kissing hot stone. Quistis saw the incredible speed and accuracy that Naruto had thrown his weapons and she was very impressed. Throwing knives and stars weren't a very common weapon seen outside of cheap comic books. To see the devastating effect properly thrown projectiles could have in person was incredible. She was about to praise the blonde for his work before she heard him gushing about his own observation.

"Damn, that acid spray was amazing! It's so useful against these higher level bastards. I wish that was something I could learn too, would love to use it on those damn samurai back home…" Naruto grumbled the last part under his breath while remembering his last encounter with the humorless soldiers.

"Those throwing weapons you used were just as impressive, Naruto. I don't think I have ever seen anyone actually use something like that in ages. I think they were decommissioned around the time the Blaster Edge weapons were developed in Galbadia." Quistis remarked while following after Naruto who had resumed his march to the center of the cavern.

"I've been looking into those weapons recently, but I don't like the return speed of the blade. Also, the general shape of most Blaster Edge blades is completely useless in melee combat. I tend to get up close and personal with my style, so that would only be a hindrance. Also, anything that reminds me of the cherry that Seifer kept banging against the wall of our dorm cannot be used for good." Naruto replied while gesturing to a side path to avoid a cluster of Red Bats that were swarming around a dead monster.

"Seifer was banging fruit against the wall?" Quistis asked with genuine curiosity.

Naruto gave her an incredulous look, "Jesus, and I thought I was dense. Seifer had a lady friend staying in his dorm room with him while she visited the Garden earlier this month. You would think they were on something to be going at it for so long, course I am used to having to listen to a decrepit old bastard trying to relive his prime…"

Quistis seemed to miss the message as she replied, "Oh, so you are the one the Disciplinary Squad has been trying so hard to OH GOD I JUST GOT THAT, MY EYES!"

Naruto stopped to watch Quistis comically trying to cast Esuna on her eyes repeatedly in an attempt to remove the visual taint of Seifer Almasy performing coitus on some poor girl. She imagined his greasy hair leaving stains all over the bed, his heaving grunts, his horrid smelling breath filling the air, the way he wore that smug grin while leaving the girl unsatisfied while he slept peacefully. Her sobs grew louder as the spells had no effect and her mind just kept replaying the event over and over. Naruto was about to try and console her, but the lava pool nearby suddenly burst as if a large bubble had formed and popped. He used a quick ice magic essence to create a wall of icy protection for his instructor.

" **Who the hell is making all that god damn noise?!"** A voice roared from above causing the cavern to shake.

Naruto looked up and saw a large beast hovering in the air. He was a muscular monster with vaguely human shape, though his face and upper body reminded Naruto of a lion. Thick red fur ran down the back of the creature as well as his upper arms and thighs. A tuft of very thick fur covered his modesty, which Naruto was thankful for, though in reality he wondered if this beast would even recognize a gender, considering most monsters were built very androgynously. The monster slowly drifted toward the nearest solid surface with a nasty grin that promised pain.

" **You smell interesting… you hold a power. I wonder... Come best me boy, and if you survive I may grace you with my blessing, as I have done with the other pitiful humans who wander in here, kukuku…"**

Naruto grinned at the opportunity to face a strong opponent, so he leapt over to the same solid platform as the unnamed beast and took a ready stance, "I am Uzumaki Naruto, who are you?"

The beast eyed Naruto before smirking and lifting his hand up to summon a very concentrated Firaga spell, " **I suppose I can grace my next victim with the name of his destroyer. I am Ifrit, The Living Flame! Prove your worth and show me your heat!"**

Naruto would have made a comment about the Guardian looking like a lion while talking about wanting to see something in heat, but he was deprived of the golden opportunity because he had to dodge a blast of intense fire that shattered several nearby pillars of igneous rock. Acting quickly, Naruto gave each of his hands a flick, which caused two special daggers to fire into his hands. These daggers flashed silver in the light of the heated magma nearby. The blades were straight and double edged with a standard guard at the base; the grips were wrapped in black leather with seams indicating a hidden mechanism. The pommel of each dagger had a small hoop similar to kunai just a little smaller.

Naruto held his weapons in a reverse grip, his fingerless gloves making a satisfying groan as leather rubbed leather. Rushing forward, Naruto dodged left and right to avoid blasts of fire. He felt his hair get singed by one particularly well aimed spell. Grunting in frustration, he leapt high over a poorly timed spell and brought both daggers down toward Ifrit's face. The resounding clang of his metal daggers striking against a powerful set of horns that he hadn't noticed before made him curse and back flip away. Claws as sharp as diamond narrowly missed leaving gouges in his chest. Naruto leapt back several times to back pedal and try to think of a strategy.

Ifrit charged forward on all fours digging up trenches in his wake. He sent several quick and deadly strikes towards Naruto who could tell he was being toyed with. The ex shinobi wished he had spent more time on his blade skills, but Shiva and Kyu had both drilled him in chakra/magical control without any respite. Naruto seemed to have an epiphany as his face lit up, and he smirked. This momentarily distracted Ifrit, which allowed the teen to land a savage drop kick to the chest of the berserk demon. A loud road echoed through the chamber as Ifrit acrobatically flipped and landed hard on his four feet. He snarled and was about to charge forward, but he noticed a strange aura of magic around the blonde. Realization kicked in when he felt a very familiar presence in the air.

 ** _'_** ** _Oh no… not her… not here…'_**

"I call upon the Winter's Wrath, let her beauty consume you. Shiva!" Naruto chanted with his magic focused in his half ram seal.

Despite the oppressive heat of the Fire Cavern, a sudden icy wind surged through the lava chamber. Ifrit growled in pain as even the touch of a cold breeze was enough to irritate and hinder the great flame deity. A large boulder of ice suddenly fell like a ten ton wrecking ball into the center of the field. Ifrit leapt back in time to avoid it, but watched in horror as his… sister… emerged. The boulder was actually a great ice sculptures of a rose, icy blue and shimmering like icicles in a morning sunrise. The petals spread slowly, layer after layer, until the icy beauty came into view. She was dressed in an elegant gown made of snowflakes and silk that hugged her curves and flowed down to her ankles, exposing her feet which were bare. She then opened her eyes, several strands of her beautiful hair waving back and forth in front of her face, and glowered at Ifrit.

 **"** **Hello, brother, how are things in this hole you have hidden away in?"** Shiva asked slowly.

Ifrit growled and bared his teeth before grinning, **"** **I am perfectly fine here in my warm home. What brings your cold heart so far from your lonely mountain?"**

 **"** **Don't act coy with me, furball. My summoner called me, and I have come."** Shiva nearly spat her words at the fire demon.

Ifrit laughed loudly, **"** **Come then, blow your wind at me and be gone, woman. I have no time for playing arou-!"**

Ifrit was cut off half way through his taunting when Shiva suddenly rushed forward and thrust her icy fist into his stomach. He coughed up a glob of magma as the hit was far stronger than anything he had endured in many years. As he fell back his body bent forward, which gave Shiva the opportunity to break his jaw with a sharp upward kick of her knee. Shiva finished her combination with a sudden burst of ice magic essence which blasted him clear across the battle field. Shiva got into a low crouched ready stance, waiting for her brother to gain his bearings. She didn't have long to wait, because he quickly recovered and rushed toward her with a reckless abandon.

A flurry of powerful, flaming swipes left trails of fire in the air as the only evidence that he was actually attacking. With a grace that no human could ever even try to imitate, Shiva dodged, ducked, dipped, dove, an dodged her way out of each strike. Ifrit became haggard and back pedaled to try and catch his breath, but Naruto sprand up out of a cloud of dust that had been a magma rock a moment before. He managed to strike at Ifrit's legs several times with his daggers. The cuts glowed as lava seeped out and coagulated like blood to seal the wounds as quickly as possible. One of Ifrit's oversized hands came crashing down on Naruto, crushing him in a heap that made Ifrit bellow in triumph.

Naruto's seemingly lifeless eyes then came alive again and with a grin he whispered, "You got hustled sweet heart, boom!"

An explosion racked the cave as Naruto erupted in a cloud of concussive damage rather than flames. While this didn't do much outer damage, the concussive force shattered a few of Ifrit's bones which made his hand practically useless. Ifrit cursed and groaned as he felt his bones slowly trying to stitch up, and his distraction was his ultimate downfall. Out of nowhere the original Naruto slid down on one knee until he was under the beast, and then twirled his legs up above his body to deliver a strong magically empowered double kick to Ifrit's stomach.

"U-!"

Two more copies of Naruto like the one who had exploded before flew up and sent punches to his chest to propell him further into the air.

"-ZU-"

A clone on the ground gave the original a boost so that he could kick Ifrit under the chin to send him rocketing even higher.

"-MA-"

A chain of still airborne Naruto's acted as the stepping stones for Shiva who leaped from one copy of her summoner to the next until the original took her hand and flung her high up into the air making her giggle a little.

"-KI-"

Shiva gave an acrobatic front flip in the air while her right foot glowed with a focused Blizzaga spell that left a crescent tail in it's wake.

"Uzumaki Naruto Snowstorm Barrage!" All the Naruto copies and the original cheered as the final strike shook the cavern.

Shiva let her foot collide with the top of Ifrit's head resulting in a massive burst of ice magic that shook the entire area and caused several dozen pillars of rock to fall over. The lava in the cavern frothed and bubbled in protest to the powerful impact. Ifrit slammed into the ground so hard that the black stone crumbled and formed a large crater. The beast froze to the ground as the permafrost caused by the magic spread out in a circle around the epicenter. Shiva floated down slowly, letting only her toes brush the ground before she smiled and did a quick twirl to end snowflakes fluttering about. She faced Naruto before rushing into him with her arms wrapping around the teen tightly, but not with all her strength.

" **We did it, Naruto! I was worried I would mess it up again by floating instead of letting gravity work. Was that amount of magic essence I used too much? I wasn't expecting all this permafrost. I hope you aren't disappointed by it.** " Shiva was like a kid with her enthusiasm, and Naruto was secretly enjoying the attention… as well as the tight embrace.

Getting his hormones under control he coughed into his hand and then smiled, pushing her back gently, "That was perfect! You were right where you needed to be, and your use of such a strong spell was great. If our opponent is a GF or someone who really needs to die, never hold back, okay?"

Shiva beamed under his praise while letting her body float again, as if rising on a cloud of joy, " **Okay, I will use my best when needed from now on. That was actually a very weakened version of that spell, well for me, heh.** "

Naruto grinned at the suddenly bashful way Shiva rubbed her arm while giggling about her own comment, "By the way, I really loved that entrance. It was… beautiful. Fucking stunning!"

As Naruto gave a good guy pose that would have made Zell Dincht and Rock Lee both gaping like fish, Shiva gave a genuine smile and floated down to be on level with her summoner. She was out of her battle mode, so her body shrank to a much more manageable size. Looking up into Naruto's eyes she spoke softly, " **Thank you, Naruto-kun** "

Naruto smirked and wiggled his pinky at her, "So it's Naruto-kun now, is it?"

Shiva took a moment to process what he as getting at, and then promptly squealed before vanishing in a huffing mess. Naruto chuckled as the last few snowflakes drifted down. Turning his attention to Ifrit he was relieved to see the beast was sitting with his legs crossed in the center of the crater. He didn't look very happy, and his wounds were mostly still bleeding with molten rock. Naruto leapt down to stand beside him, and was surprised when he wasn't attacked on the spot. Instead, Ifrit grinned toothily at him while snarling softly.

" **Well, that was a fucking mess. You're pretty skilled, human. Pretty unique magic you have… and you could call forth Shiva to my den without her suffering weakness. Usually your lot come in thinking she will blow me away, and I get a little dusting of snow. She seemed stronger than I have ever seen her before.** " Ifrit admitted before groaning as his hand popped back into proper shape, " **What is your story?"**

"Sorry bro, but now isn't the right time. Here, knuckle bump time, then the others will fill you in. I hope we can be bros once you get all healed up." Naruto smiled while holding up his fist close to the good hand Ifrit had.

The great fire demon looked at the little fist presented to him and he shrugged. His large fist bumped against Naruto's skin and a bright flash of light engulfed the area. Naruto rubbed his eyes with his fingers to clear away he flashing lights, but then he was bowled over by a large hand pinning him down. Ifrit was looking down at him intensely with his eyes narrowed, but then they opened in shock.

" **You are… you are… a True Summoner! This is… this power… our bond is so strong!"** Ifrit roared as he stood up and then he flexed his hand to find all of the injuries were gone. In a bright flash of red, a pair of armor leggings appeared on his muscular legs, and thick steel gauntlets covered his large hands with fire licking up from under neath.

Naruto watched in awe, not expecting the beast to be so excited. He also wondered why he seemed to surprised by his sudden armor accents. It seemed he was able to summon them at will, as if he knew they were available, but the demon was clueless, albeit expressing his appreciation with exclamations of 'fuck yes' and 'damn these feel strong.'

"Well bro, I would stay longer to chat, but I have like, two minutes left to get out of here before I fail this test. I also need to find my instructor. She had a nervous breakdown right before you attacked." Naruto turned around to search the area.

Ifrit looked at Naruto with a big grin on his muzzle, "No worries, Naruto. I will retreat and prepare for your school mates. Thanks to you, they will need to try a bit harder if they wish to gain my blessing."

The two exchanged another friendly knuckle bump before Naruto walked off, allowing Ifrit the chance to repair the area. After searching the place a few moments, Naruto found Quistis trapped inside the ice barrier he had made to protect her from Ifrit's original attack. When he broke his magic from the ice, it shattered and Quistis glared daggers at him. He gulped loudly before putting his hands up defensvely, "You can yell all you want at me once we get out of here, Quistis-hime. We have… a minute thirty to haul ass."

Quistis' eyes widedned like saucers before the pair sprinted out of the massive volcanic cavern. Knowing the path to take this time, they retraced their steps until the found the long upward climb through the darkness. A cool breeze touched their soaked and sweaty bodies making the two of them shiver. Naruto and his instructor escaped the dark passage with ten seconds to spare, much to the displeasure of the two guards who grudgingly signed their confirmation of his time on his paperwork. Naruto was the only one to cheer, and he quickly realized it was because Quistis was too busy giving him the look. It was the look that most women had when they were ready to find any excuse in the world to give you a colonoscopy.

"Naruto, you realize that because you failed to remove the barrier… I wasn't able to access your combat prowess?" Quistis asked, innocently in tone, but there was no masking the hint of danger Naruto heard.

"I'm sorry, I acted on instinct. There was a small bridge around the barrier, but I think the big guy's roar might have made it crumble into the lava. I have him registered as a GF though, so there is the proof n your pudding, right?" Naruto gave a nervous chuckle.

Quistis did her best to stay angry with Naruto, to have the courage to threaten him with failure, but looking into his cerulean blue eyes broke her resolve, and she sighed in defeat, "I guess that was the objective… I was just hoping to see more of your strength. Judging by your skill with the Glacial Eyes, and the Buel, I can give you a passing grade for the Prelim exam. Come on, let's get back to the Garden."

As Naruto and Quistis walked up the road leading towards the gate of Balamb Garden, Naruto caught sight of Zell leaning by the gate with his eyes shut. Naruto let out a loud whistle to catch the other blonde's attetion, and they exchanged waves. Zell was grinning ear to ear as he took in the battered and singed sight of Naruto's uniform, though he was surprised to see no cuts or bruises, or burn marks for that matter. In fact, that was something that pissed Zell off just a little. Naruto never seemed to get hurt, at all, fucking ever. Zell had taken steps, under Naruto's guidance, towards acknowledging his cocky tendencies and changing those habits for the better. It was going to be a long road for the brawler. That aside, he was fairly certain that taking a punch from Zell Dincht left a bruise.

Damn weird, Shiva's bitch blonde…

"How'd you like the heat, man?" Zell asked while the two shared a one armed bro hug.

Naruto laughed and shoved Zell away getly, "It was nice, but I prefer air conditioning."

Quistis and Zell shared in his laughter at the comment before Zell started to shadow box while hopping around excitedly, "Bro, I can't wait for tomorrow when we get to ship out. I hope we get teamed up so we can try some combos."

"Speaking of combos, Mister Uzumaki, what was that strange attack that you performed? I heard multiple voices, and I could swear I heard the voice of Shiva." Quistis asked, but then she noticed that the two teens were off and running trying to beat each other to the turn styles. She sighed, _'_ _Damn him, I will learn more about that boy if it kills me!'_

* * *

After Zell was soundly beaten in their impromptu foot race, the two settled down for a late lunch. Naruto had quite the reputation with the kitchen staff for his kind nature and his exuberance when praising their skill at cooking. When students normally weren't allowed to get anything to eat, Naruto was always welcome to have a bit of whatever meal he might have missed as long as he promised to keep training hard. Naruto had added that motley crew of chefs and servers to his list of precious people, and told them all that he would never stop training to keep them and the Garden safe. That day, he had been given extra helpings.

Naruto and Zell were both having chili dogs with baked french fries and two cups of very nutritional fruit and vegetable juice. It had taken only one serving of these strange meat sausages for Naruto to realize that they were just the kind of meal he enjoyed: simple. Zell had been able to get to the Cafeteria every day hot dogs were served on time thanks to the speed and agility training that Naruto had tortured… I mean, instructed him with. Ever since, the energetic brawler had promised to teach Naruto the way of the hot dog, including the plethora of toppings available, as well as the perfect combos to make the mind explode with flavor sensations. Naruto had found the speech amusing, and idly remembered when he had been younger and pretended to be addicted to ramen. Sure, he loved the stuff, but he had put on such performances as a younger ninja-in-training.

They were discussing the hell of the Fire Cavern when they heard a couple students running by the entrance to the Cafeteria talking excitedly.

"Did you hear that Seifer and Squall are dueling again? I can't believe those two are at it again after last time!"

"Oh good lord, Instructor Trepe isn't going to be pleased. We should hurry before the action starts!"

Naruto sighed softly, shaking his head in frustration. Those two teens had been at it all month supposedly preparing for the field exams. Judging by the intensity he had seen in many of their matches, he had a feeling that being prepared was the last thing on their minds. Squall liked to pretend to be hip like his old sensei Kakashi, but there were things he was passionate about just like anyone else and he showed it in his duels with Seifer. The Almasy had a similar ferocity that bordered on insane as he taunted and goaded, all the while weilding his long blade with the same skill and speed as his opponent. Naruto had labeled the blonde a flight risk after only a week knowing the boy, and had decided to keep a close eye on him from then on.

"You reckon we ought to head on over and watch? They usually have these messy fights over by the rock garden in the Quad." Zell asked while finishing off his last bite of chili dog, a bit of his food flying as he sputtered.

Naruto casually dodged a bit of moist bread with a head tilt, "I guess so, it would be good to study their skills in case we end up teamed with those trouble makers. And don't forget to jog there, I need you really working with those weights if we are going to keep you on schedule."

Zell groaned like a child on a Sunday morning while slamming his head into the lunch table.

* * *

The resounding clang of steel on steel filled the air of the Quad as several groups of students watched quietly. The rock garden of the Quad was a place where students normally sat to enjoy the strange asthetics, but after the surge of students using the Quad for training it had become an area where the more brutal of sparing matched took place. The solid stone and gravel flooring could take the punishment of high level spells and strong impacts. The Garden Faculty had been livid when they discovered the extent of the damages, but Headmaster Cid had whole heartedly approved of its use in training. With Cid's support, the Rock Garden had been designated a level one training ground where students could train together rather than against the monsters of the Training Center.

The spectacle between the two sole Gunblade masters of Balamb Garden had been publicized to the entire school quickly, causing an uproar in several classes that weren't allowed to leave early to watch. Seifer and Squall always made sure to please the crowd with unmatched blade skills, top quality magic casting, and the occasional one sided banter that Seifer provided. A shower of sparks caused the crowd to gasp as the pristine blades collided in a show of pure strength verses pure speed. Seifer was in no way a weakling, but his strikes were never quite as powerful as the two handed style used by his rival. To mirror this, Squall was inmatched in swinging strength and accuracy, but his speed was never as well maintained as his disciplinarian adversary.

Squall was on guard, expertly deflecting each of Seifer's rapid blows. The blonde grew irritated and gave a sharp kick to the boy he knew as Squall's stomach to force him back. Squall being the trooper he was, took the kick and slid backwards a few meters before regaining his balance. Seifer danced forward with a smirk and brought his blade upward, slashing for Squall's chest. He grunted when the weight of his rival's blade once again blocked him. He hated how damn good the brunette bastard truly was. The two kept their blades locked to gain their second wind.

"You should give up, pussy. You see, I got a dream, and that dream will keep me from losing until I fulfill that dream. What do you have? Nothing, that's what, you god damn pussy." Seifer said with a sadistic grin.

Squall scowled but said nothing, instead using his superior strength to shove the blonde away. Seifer skidded a few feet before hopping several times to maintain his balance. Squall charged forward with a reckless abandon that gave Seifer the opportunity that he needed. The blonde focused a Fira spell in his off hand quicker than Squall could react, and soon the black wearing warrior was flat on his back, the fur on his coat smoking a little. He struggled to regain his footing, but before he could stand he felt the white hot flash of steel slicing his face clean open. His scream of pain caused several girls watching to cry out in empathy and fear. One student ran off quickly to fetch the doctor from the infirmary while the rest watched in shock.

Squall, in a fit of true anger and spite, took advantage of Seifer's normal smug and cocky attitude to strike unexpectedly, cleaving a large gash across his enemy's face. The resulting pain caused Seifer to back up several steps while attempting to stem the flow of blood. Both opponents faced off, staring through red and the stinging pain of their wounds. As if on a silent cue, both dashed at monstrous speeds to strike again, but when their blades flashed, there were two loud clangs instead of the single strike everyone expected.

A half second later two loud explosions sounded which resulted in the scene being covered in a plume of dark smoke. The sound of weapons dropping filled the air and many of the onlookers wondered what had happened. As the smoke cloud settled, everyone was shocked, including the two fighters who were both seated on their asses twenty feet apart. Seifer's Gunblade had struck the ground and was standing several yards to the left of their battle. Opposite that was the imposing blade Squall used, still smoking lightly as the blade slowly cooled down. A lone figure stood tall where the two had clashed only seconds ago. This figure was Naruto Uzumaki.

He stood with his hands down at his sides, daggers in his hands. The two small blades were gleaming in the sun as he held them in his usual reverse grip. Their grips were opened and turned into large triggers, and an opening on each dagger's guard revealed a concealed gun barrel. Both were smoking lightly from the resent release of magic and gunpowder. Zell wondered when the guy had jumped into the fight, considering they had been right next to each other a moment ago. Then he remembered his first duel with the guy, and he groaned. Man did he have a long way to go…

"This is supposed to be a place of friendly dueling to test our skills, not a God damn arena to fight to the death. Training accidents happen, but both of you acted out of anger and spite to purposefully injure each other. What kind of team mates would you two make, huh?! You think this is some fucking game?! When you set foot outside this Garden tomorrow, you might die because of shit like this! At this moment, neither of you has what it takes to be part of a team! Team mates acknowledge each other and support one another! I don't give a monkey's left testicle about your rivalry about who has the bigger dick, you keep that shit out of your spars! The price we pay for putting our faith in others who we cannot trust…" Naruto's speech trailed off as he clutched at his chest tightly.

Everyone was shocked to hear the usually joking and laughing blonde act so mature and angry. Several students who once thought very little of him had just felt a great deal of respect build for him. Seifer was simply stunned and trying not to look at his roommate. In the month that the two had roomed together, Naruto had been almost nonexistent. Naruto had respected his personal space and let him have his usual meetings with Fujin and Raijin, only occasionally slipping out to give Fujin a teasing show that resulted in a great deal of laughter. As much as Seifer didn't want any more friends… he begrudgingly had started to like the guy, if only because he was the first roommate he had ever had who didn't push for any form of friendship. He had just let things flow as they would, and it was the way that Seifer had always liked people to act.

Squall, or Leon to Naruto, was just confused. Having always been a loner, thinking about his teammates had been a back burner ideal. Friends were particularly useless in the greater scheme of things. He had one job, to finish missions by the book with no diversions. What did he care if his teammates trusted him or vice versa? But… something about how Naruto had spoken seemed to chip away at his stone wall defense, and he found himself questioning his beliefs. He wanted to be a team leader on missions with his fellow SeeD, completing missions and earning recognition for his skills. A team leader… someone responsible for others… someone to be… trusted. Whether from the blood loss or the ideas he was having, he suddenly felt ill. He became dizzy, and he caught sight of Naruto walking toward him slowly. The last thing he saw before darkness consumed him were a set of deep cerulean eyes filled with a strange sadness.

* * *

 **Broke 120 Follows for the story. I are excited, you beautiful senpais!**


	6. Chapter 6: Dance in Dollet

**Welcome back you beautiful senpais, your most humble and gracious Garnetio Solozari returns with yet another installment of Uzumaki Naruto: Gurdian Enforcer.**

 **This chapter is about one and half the normal, aprx +/- 15k words and covers a lot of stuff. There is a bit more action, though I suck at it. Hope it doesn't burn your retinas with how horrendous it is! Senpais must be able to see in order to notice me!**

 **For fans of the Konoha bits, from here on out they will be labeled as Konoha Chronicles, just for a bit of fan fair, ya know? This chappie has a little section of that. No spoiler!**

 **Today's question: Who do you think would be the best or worst person to travel to Gaia in search of Naruto. (Besides Sasuke or Sakura suggestions.) Private messages welcome!**

 **Whose excited for the exam? LETS DO THIS!**

" **Big mother truckers talkin!"**

' _ **Big mother truckers thinkin'**_

* * *

"So, how is he doing?"

Naruto was watching over the brooding brunette he called Leon while standing beside his instructor, Quistis Trepe. They were in the Infirmary, and they had been there since the day began. Naruto had been the lucky candidate to drag his sorry ass to the Infirmary after his botched duel landed him there with a concussion and low blood pressure. Naruto wasn't so much angry with the two swordsmen, but he was extremely disappointed. He had come to respect both of their skills, but now he had been relieved of the illusion and saw their flaws laid to bear. Leon was clearly too focused on his goals to realize that he had none, and Seifer… Seifer had a lot of similarities to a certain avenger that scared Naruto.

Quistis was truly only concerned about one person, and he was laid out on the hospital bed behind the curtain they were using to muffle their voices. She had been forcefully removed from the Infirmary the night before to allow her time to sleep before the day's events began to unfold. The Field Exam group was set to leave in three hours time, and she had yet to oversee Leon's trip to the Fire Cavern. That was the last thing on her mind however, because despite herself she was… well, she had a crush on Leon something awful, but to call it love would be pushing it. She wasn't even sure what love really was, just that she wanted to be by his side in all things.

Naruto saw the face she wore and sighed, knowing exactly where he had seen such a face before, "Trepe-sensei, may I speak freely?"

Quistis was shocked out of her daze and looked at the blonde that she had been ignoring until then. "I'm sorry Mister Uzumaki; go ahead, I am listening now."

Naruto took a deep breath and then squared his shoulders, "You shouldn't chase after him."

"…What?" Quistis asked, dumbfounded.

"I said you shouldn't chase after him. Trepe-sensei, I can see it in your eyes. While you teach our entire class, you only ever give him your full attention. You praise us all, but when you acknowledge him it is something much deeper than a simple pat on the back. I understand better than most how harsh life can be when you chase and chase after the person that you want to see you the most, and end up being the person that they never see. Leon-san is… he is a very astute and hardworking individual, and I think he should be admired for it, but what you are doing is unhealthy. Back home we called people like that fan-girls and fan-boys, and they would sacrifice everything to shower their one true love with everything they could. I don't think you are there yet, but you are dangerously close to being hurt." Naruto was firm and stern, but he tried to keep his tone calming so that she wouldn't overreact.

Quistis was trembling with her left hand clenched on her uniform top and her right hand gripping her whip, "I don't understand… what are you trying to say?"

Naruto took a deep breath and decided that the band aid was best torn off now, "I'm saying that you need to forget about being in love with him…"

 _Slap!_

Quistis hand had swung faster than she thought she should be able to move. When it had been lifted up she had no idea. As reality came crashing down around her, she realized that her hand stung like she had just hit a solid wall. In front of her, Naruto was turned slightly with his eyes covered in shadow and his cheek only slightly reddened. Nothing was said between the two for a few moments, and then Naruto turned on his heel and left the Infirmary at a casual pace. Quistis hand fell suddenly as if guilt had taken physical form and latched onto her wrist. The doctor came around the curtains slowly and looked around. He had heard the sound of the slap and then the marching of soft sandals on tile.

"The… the patient is awake and responding to questions accurately, Miss Trepe. I will get the discharge papers."

Quistis was quiet before pulling herself together so that she could get Leon moving. Before she revealed herself to speak to him, she quickly cleared her eye with her sleeve.

* * *

Naruto had gone to the Cafeteria to get something to eat, even though his stomach was in knots. The serving lady noticed his glum expression so she gave him a very special bowl of cooked noodles that they had very recently perfected just for the blonde. Naruto was surprised they would make him something that usually would only be available at lunch, but he was incredibly thankful for their gesture and made sure to thank the staff profusely before taking his seat. The ramen was on par with his favorite brand back home, but the vegetables used were a bit different. Different in no way took away from the rich flavor, and the saltiness was a welcome flavor to settle his stomach. Damn that lady had really fucked up his flow slapping him so suddenly.

He wasn't exactly jealous or anything… well maybe a little, but he wasn't sure what that even felt like. Sure, he had acted a specific way to pretend he was jealous of his ex teammate back home, but that sham had only fooled a few truly naïve people. Kakashi had tried to help him with that part of his act, but his sensei had also never been someone who knew such emotions. In truth he just didn't want to see his friend get hurt, which she was almost certainly going to be if she kept on her crusade of winning the favor of the handsome black knight. He briefly remembered his female teammate back home and how she had fallen into chronic depression after… that day. The thought of it made him so angry that the plastic fork in his hand snapped in half and he had to use a spare that the kitchen staff had provided for him. They had grown used to his antics, so they had contingency plans for such things.

"Attention all exam participants. Please meet by the Map Display at the Main Entrance in two hours. Repeat, attention all exam…"

"Joy, I hope they don't keep that on a repeat or anything. That shit is going to be annoying every half hour…" Naruto grumbled while he used his fork to tease at his food.

Naruto found that his prediction was wrong… they repeated every fifteen minutes. It became maddening to the point where Naruto nearly threw a kunai into the speaker in the ceiling. He had hoped to find something to do, anything would have been better than sitting idle. He had changed his uniform for a fresh one, gone through his finite supplies to make sure he had everything he would need, spent some time Junctioning his magic essence to be sure his performance was at the top, and he had even tried to spend time reading in the Library. The Library had turned out to be a bust because he couldn't concentrate long enough to retain much. Su wasn't pleased to see him go, but she did wish him good luck on his exam, which he was grateful for.

The ex shinobi wound up waiting by the Main Entrance about a half hour early to be sure he wouldn't miss anything important. Shortly after, crowds of hopefuls wandered up to join him in waiting. He was lost in through counting down the seconds to the next reminder announcement when he was glomped rather forcefully to the side by a brown haired blur. When he was able to take stock of the situation, he found himself looking at the very smug grin of Selphie Tilmitt. The girl was part of an exchange program from Trabia Garden, though she took no time at all integrating herself into Balamb. Much like Naruto, she had a very childish attitude that got her into a lot of trouble, but earned her a few quick friends among the students. In fact, her outgoing nature and can-do attitude were what had attracted Naruto to her in the first place. One tour and the two of them were what she called 'besties' and he had quite literally volunteered to help her with her side project almost immediately… after she begged him for a half hour straight.

"Selphie-chan, how many times are you going to sneak up on me like that?! You are ruining my cool-guy reputation with these damn ambushes!" Naruto yelled in a way that made him think of his old goofball mask.

Selphie crossed her arms over her chest while striking a rather impressive victory pose, "Cool-guy my butt, you are a total sham and everyone knows it!"

Naruto fell to his knees while a cloud of depression seemed to hover over him raining dry tears on him, "A sham… why Selphie-chan… why?"

Selphie laughed while waving away the fake sad atmosphere and helping the chuckling Naruto back to his feet, "God you re such a dork sometimes, you dork!"

"Sticks and stones may bruise my bones, but because that boot fits, I'll wear it with pride. Besides, as long as you're laughing then it can't be all bad. So there." Naruto finished his very mature and totally clear statement with an equally mature and sensible raspberry.

Selphie rolled her eyes but she was smiling widely, "I swear, when I end up heading back to Trabia I don't know what I will do without these ridiculous antics of yours. It'll be so boring! Are you sure I can't convince you to come back with me?"

Naruto ignored her puppy dog eyes and gave her a dismissive wave, "Sorry, can't, I am needed here. But, if you ever get sent on missions back home and need backup, send word and I will be there in a heartbeat for ya."

Selphie huffed and had to turn to hide one of her rare blushes that seemed to happen only when this knucklehead said such sincere things to her. In her young mind he could be so charming when he said those things, like some hero in a novel. The worst and she meant absolute worst thing about it was the damn genuine tone that he used when he talked, even as he tried to say it in a casual way. She knew he wasn't an idiot… okay, not that big of an idiot… yeah, she would go with that… anyway; she knew he was aware of how far away Trabia really was. To promise that he would cross practically the entire world to rush to her aid at the drop of a hat… such a friend was rare in this world. Fucking annoying, romantic blonde…

"…and Selphie Tilmitt, please come here to receive your team assignment." A SeeD nearby said while waving his arm to grab attention.

"That's me, you make sure you don't miss the boat you moron, or I will beat you with my nunchaku, got it?" Selphie teased while striking a pose with her left hand perched on her hip above the nunchaku that she fought with.

Naruto scoffed at her attempt to intimidate him as well as the subtle attempt to look sexy, "Hai, hai, I'll be on time shorty. You just keep those hips of yours under control. This is a ground mission, no need for weapons of lass destruction!"

Naruto narrowly avoided being hit by several low level fire spells that fell harmlessly into the water behind him. He laughed and then relaxed when she was escorted away toward the Parking Garage. The teams were being assembled one after the other in groups of three to four. Leon showed up not too long after teams started leaving in full uniform which Naruto thought was absolutely hilarious because of his uncomfortable grimacing each time he tugged at the collar. Seifer had been standing with his usual posse since Selphie had left. When Naruto finally noticed the last few people, he silently cursed his luck. The voice of a female SeeD, one Naruto had remembered from his first day, filled the now quiet map area.

* * *

"Seifer Almasy, Squall Leonhart, Zell Dincht, and Naruto Uzumaki, you will form Team B. If you are all ready, we will be heading out immediately. The last transport car just arrived."

"Great, the statue, the idiot, and the chicken-wuss…" Seifer grumbled loud enough for everyone to hear.

Zell heard that, but he relaxed due to a look from Naruto telling him to keep his cool. Leon noticed this brief exchange and made note of it for later. The young woman led the group around to the Parking Garage where a single armored Garden owned transport car was waiting idle. Naruto didn't look forward to sitting in this tiny shit can with the two swordsmen, but he knew the ride would be quick and relatively painless. He took a seat near the back next to Seifer, Zell and Leon took the seats across from them. The tension was absolutely fan-fucking-tastic. It felt like an eternity before the car actually started moving.

Naruto closed his eyes to try and ignore his co-passengers, but they would have none of that.

"Where are your weapons, Uzumaki?" Seifer asked quietly enough for the conversation to be between the two of them.

Naruto pulled back his right sleeve to show a strange mechanism that looked a lot like a gauntlet. Naruto's fingerless glove stretched right up his arm to just below his elbow. On his forearm was one of his dagger styled Gunblades and it was attached to some kind of magnetic attachment that was sewn into the leather. Above the dagger was a spool of thin steel wire that seemed to be hooked onto a set of small gears. From the look of it, the gears worked to keep the spool taut with only enough slack as he needed at any given time. Should he desire, a flick of the wrist would activate the system and it would reel in the wire quickly and safely, though it still looked damn dangerous for someone untrained in how to handle the wire. He idly noticed that the wire was nigh invisible unless one looked hard enough for a glint of reflection, and the end of the wire was secured to the ring on the pommel of the dagger.

"The hell is all that?" Seifer gestured toward the mechanism.

Naruto sighed and decided that since the two of them were on a team, one little secret revealed wouldn't hurt, "I built this using some basic early designs Galbadia released years ago for their first generation Blaster Edge weapons. At first, they had no idea how to get the damn blades to return accurately, and people were getting beheaded in combat situations by their own weapons. Eventually they used some sorceress tech developed during the Sorceress War to fix the problem. The early designs were based roughly on the chain whip, which involved attaching the blades to a thin chain that would limit the range, but return the weapon to the user with the activation of a gear set. This worked well in training programs, but when issued to active service members it was disastrous. I'm sure you can imagine the kinds of mistakes that can happen when you are running on adrenaline.

I decided I wanted to perfect their method for my own purposes. I am very skilled with these wires due to years setting traps… for monsters. I combined the gear set of the original prototypes with the magnet link the newer models use, and this is their love child. The reason I went to the trouble is because I am used to adapting to the situations I get into that aren't quite normal. I tend to throw everything at my enemy, literally, but these babies aren't meant for throwing. I fixed that little limitation."

Seifer said nothing for a few moments while he looked the strange thing over. He had to admit that the idea was solid, even if a bit unorthodox. He often wished he had a better mind on the battlefield, considering he usually relied on Fujin for such things. Having the ability to adapt… thinking on the fly… being strong enough to stand alone. Damn this blonde show off for being so prepared. It was like with the scar face across from him. So infuriating, but so damn admirable at the same time. He scoffed and turned away, but Naruto wasn't bothered. Naruto didn't need the approval of some brat to know that he was a goddamn genius of unpredictability.

Leon had been eyeing the exchange while straining to eavesdrop. Those strange hidden gauntlet add-ons were interesting, if a bit weird to look at. The way Naruto moved around with those hidden away under his clothes was pretty impressive. What kind of work had the teen been involved in where he would be so comfortable with all that hidden? Leon wanted to know more, but damn it he didn't want to care. Why did he care what his teammate was up to? Why did he want to know about the blonde's weapons and skills? All he had to worry about was himself. He heaved a heavy sigh and rubbed the throbbing scar on his face, remembering his mistakes and the speech that had followed.

"You know… he didn't mean to upset you yesterday." Zell said suddenly from his relaxed position by Leon.

Leon regarded him for a moment before looking back at the steel floor of the personnel carrier. He didn't have anything to say to that, and he didn't particularly like the brawling idiot much in general. That didn't seem to faze Zell though,

"Naruto is a wild ride of mystery, let me tell ya. We have been chilling for a month, and I know next to nothing about the guy. He mentions people, but he never says any names, and there are times when he gets these really… hurt expressions before he diverts. It drives me crazy because I want him to trust me, I want to be his bro, ya know? He is always demanding I work harder, pushes me to eat more, barges in on me while I am being lazy in the Library to force me to read stuff… and it's all been to help me. He's never once asked for anything in return. I think he did the same thing with you guys, getting all in your way and whatnot. His face… it was like he was reliving something that had hurt him in the past while watching you guys go wild. Don't ignore what he said, dude, he is way smarter than he lets on… maybe not smarter, but wiser for sure."

Leon said nothing, pretending to ignore Zell, but he would be a fool if he tried to tell himself that he hadn't heard any of it.

The newly formed Team B left the back of the transport and found the warm sun beaming down on them. The strong scent of the sea filled their noses, and despite all of the recent drama, Naruto was thrilled. He hadn't been out to sea in years, and even then it had been while stressing over possible ambushes. Things weren't going to be much better, that was for damn sure, but for this one fleeting moment he was free to bask in it. The salty air of the sea reminded him of something, though he knew he had no right claiming such a thing, His mother would no doubt pound him for that thought, but it was simply how he felt. Zell was particularly happy to be back in town as well, even if he weren't going to get to stop by his mother's place. They had been dropped off at the dock after all, and Naruto had heard him say that his mother lived about two blocks away from the city gate.

Seifer was quick to dismiss the beautiful scenery to board the waiting transport boat without a word. Leon was much the same, but he at least waited for Zell and Naruto to get over their moment of glee. Xu followed after them bringing up the rear. Waiting on the dock were Headmaster Cid who was accompanied by a Balamb Guard in full robes. They came to see the students off as a show of faith and support. Quistis was also present because she would be accompanying Team B and acting as support for their operation. Naruto kept his gaze away from the blonde instructor, his posture as professional as possible. Zell noticed this, but knew Naruto would fill him in later if it was important. Xu sealed the hatch on the boat behind her while everyone found a seat inside the boat.

Naruto was amused to find the boat seemed more luxurious than a war boat needed to be. The seats were padded leather and could seat up to eight. At the end of the room was a large television built into the thick steel wall. Naruto realized that the small room was a briefing room when he noticed all the paperwork on the table that was set into the floor dividing the room. Seifer and Leon took their seats on the same side of the room, albeit several seats apart. Zell took a relaxed position across from Seifer as he did during the ride in the car. Naruto, realizing that the ladies would need a seat, simply stood by the wall opposite the large monitor with his arms crossed over his chest. Xu and Quistis took up positions near the front of the room by the monitor. When the boat was well out to sea, the two began the briefing.

"All right gentlemen, welcome to your SeeD Field Exam. This exam will be based on several key factors: teamwork, readiness, planning, obedience, temperament, skill, and patience. A team leader has been selected for you by the Garden Faculty. Seifer Almasy, you will be team leader of Team B." Quistis said while keeping a wary eye on all four of the boys, lingering for a moment on Naruto who had yet to open his eyes.

"You're kidding me, right? Seifer is team leader? Who did I piss off?" Zell asked almost pleadingly hoping it was a cruel joke.

Seifer grew irritated as demonstrated by his brow twitching and his leg kicking slightly, "S'matter chicken-wuss, can't handle being led by such an outstanding fighter?"

"…" Zell took a deep breath as he had been taught by Naruto, though his muscles were tensed up tightly.

Seifer grew even more irritated when his ribbing was going ignored, but he was cut off from further teasing as Quistis continued, "Settle down. Remember, your scores are already being tallied by those observing you. I will be turning this over to SeeD Agent Xu who will properly brief you on the mission ahead."

Quistis nodded to her peer before walking over to the row of seats Zell occupied and taking a seat. She was now across from Leon and she was feeling a little shy, trying her best to not stare at him. She found his scar made his looks a bit rugged, which pleased her a great deal. Leon noticed her looks and groaned quietly to himself, hoping to avoid any awkward exchanged looks. Naruto silently observed this with a foul taste in his mouth, but he wouldn't interfere with Quistis anymore. He had learned a long time ago to let women handle themselves, why he had broken his one rule he had no idea, but that was a hard lesson to learn, and even harder to be reminded.

The now named Xu cleared her throat and caught the attention of everyone in the room. Once she was sure all eyes were ready, she spoke.

"The SeeD exam will take the form of a massive counter offensive strike into the coastal city of Dollet, the last real seat of power remaining of the once Holy Dollet Empire. Located on the northeastern coast of what is now the continent of Galbadia, they enjoy a warm climate almost all year round and have become a tourist location. This life style has led to the Dollet Army growing complacent, as observed by several SeeD who have been integrated into the area keeping tabs on troop movements for the past few months. Seventy two hours ago, the Galbadian Army attacked Dollet, and within 49 hours the city had been taken. Resisting forces have been holed up in the mountains.

Your mission is to move through the city via Market Street following our front line SeeD Agents. They will remove the brunt of their forces leaving your team to eliminate all resistance left behind. Observe the map."

Xu pointed toward the monitor that soon came to life and shifted into an aerial view of what Naruto could only assume was the city of Dollet. The map shifted and zoomed in to show several arrows all labeled with letters. He noted that Team A would be taking back streets to scour the area for something, but he was sure it was on a need to know basis. Still, he couldn't help a little worry for his friend Selphie, even if she was a kick-ass spell caster. His team's arrow was pointed from the beach front directly into the heart of the city.

"Team B will follow this path through the currently contested streets of the inner city mopping up the stragglers trying to flank our SeeD forces already inside the city. You are to report to these coordinates and hold the location until you receive further orders. This is not negotiable, and any deviation from the set rules of conduct will reflect severely on your grade. Should you be overwhelmed, you are to radio the beachfront command and request back up. In desperate circumstances you are authorized to pull back, but you must radio your intentions so that our teams behind you aren't caught unaware. Are we all clear on your objectives?"

For a moment no one spoke, and then Naruto broke the silence, "I understand this is an active assault mission with little need for subtlety. Should we combat the enemy with restraint within the close quarters of the city streets, or have the Dollet people given consent to use extreme force?"

Xu's eyes brightened a little as she listened to the blonde voice his concern, "That is a good point. It I advised that you use extreme restraint to minimize property damage. We are here to help liberate them, not renovate them."

"Spell restrictions?" Naruto continued once he realized no one else was thinking.

Xu considered the question for a moment, "The use of ice and thunder magic as offensive options are permitted, but keep them limited the best you can. Fire would be too much of a hazard to worry about setting the city ablaze while we already have soldiers lurking about."

"What kinds of opposition have the front line reported?" Naruto asked while Junctioning his magic accordingly so that his fire would enhance his body freeing up his ice and thunder essence.

Xu was particularly impressed with the boy for asking such important questions, "Ground forces consist of the usual rank and file. They dress in uniform blue and have several magical enhancements to augment them, though they aren't nearly as effective as our Junction system. They carry military grade long swords, though their training is minimal at best judging from reports we have received from the front. The real pain will be their leaders, the Elite Soldiers. Spot them in their red uniforms and try to focus them first. They carry stronger level magic essence in their suits and fight with wrist mounted machine guns. The only other threats are their mechanized forces, but they will not be employed within the tight city streets. SeeD assisting in the counter defense in the mountains will be dealing with those."

Naruto nodded and fell quiet again after finishing his preparations. The other three cadets were fidgeting a little in their seats after hearing all of this, but none of them were worried. Leon was eager to prove himself in a real combat situation against trained soldiers. Seifer was ready to prove himself as a proper knight, save the day from the evil invaders, and kill as many of those bastards in his way that he could before any of his team could touch them. Zell, the knucklehead he was, stood up and started throwing punches to ready his muscles for the coming fights. This didn't go over well with Seifer who grunted.

"Sit the hell down you stupid chicken-wuss, your dancing is irritating." Seifer barked.

Zell stopped mid punch and then slowly turned to face the blond sword swinger, "You're a real bastard, you know that?"

Seifer's brow twitched comically and he nearly grabbed his sword before Zell turned away from him to ignore him, completely throwing him off.

"Yo, darky, mind if I check out that sweet blade of yours?" Zell asked while pointing at Leon's side.

Leon's head swiveled in a slow and mechanical way until he looked at Naruto who was casually cleaning his nails, "Why do I feel like you are the reason he just called me… darky?"

Naruto pretended to just notice Leon as he tilted his head, "What? Me? Now, what makes you think someone as head strong and stubborn as Zell would let someone like me manipulate or influence him?"

"Hey now, why are you two pretending I am not here!?" Zell asked while shaking his fist at Naruto and Leon who stared at each other with matching blank looks. It was clear Naruto was just copying the stoic brunette, and Leon had no idea that was happening so he just kept his usual look.

Seifer had had enough of the shenanigans with his team mates and he yelled, "Enough damn it that is an order! Squall, why don't you and Uzumaki go and take a peek outside and assess the situation?"

Naruto pocketed his hands and walked passed Leon toward the stairs leading to the floor above where a mounted machine gun was locked in an inactive mode. As soon as he got there he smelled the smoke and blood in the air. The sight in the distance turned even his stomach, despite having seen battle before. This was a warzone, something he had once been thankful for never having seen. Explosions rocked the city, toppling buildings and sending shock waves across the sea that even rocked their boat. Leon came up behind him with a map and without a word held it up for the two of them to compare. This was going to be hell.

* * *

Breathing… quiet and stead breathing… in and out… in and out… no pressure.

Naruto was standing at the ready behind Zell, Leon and Seifer with their eyes glued to the large deployment ramp on the bow of their boat. It was intimately dark save for the dim light shining behind them further inside their assault craft. When their boat struck against something, each of them held onto the walls firmly. Gravity took them for a moment, before inertia decided they needed to be closer as a team. Falling forward, each of the teens groaned as they stood up in time for the ramp to open. Sand kicked up around the edges of the ramp as it slapped down into the white beach floor. Gunfire filled the air as forward teams broke through the lines first. Seifer leapt off their boat with gusto, brandishing his Gunblade and waving it like a madman in a butcher shop.

"Finally, the white knight of Balamb has come to liberate Dollet! You idiots better keep up, or I will leave your useless asses to build sand castles." Seifer yelled before charging off with speed that would normally be impossible in sand.

Zell groaned and looked at Leon and Naruto who were both looking a little irritated, "Guess this means we need to follow his crazy ass from here out. I'll take point if you guys can lend mid range support."

Naruto nodded and got several of his throwing weapons ready while Leon simply tossed his Gunblade over his shoulder. The three took up a triangle formation with Naruto taking up the read three steps behind Leon who was three steps behind Zell. They soon found Seifer ass deep in Galbadian Soldiers, though he was doing well alone. They were several steps away from him when three more soldiers burst from a shop window sending glass skittering across the cobblestone street. Zell juked backward to avoid a sword strike before leaping high above the soldiers to deliver a series of high speed kicks to the soldier that had attacked him and over extended.

Before the two other soldiers could flank Zell, a large weapon shaped like a star was thrown between them and Zell's fight. Naruto soon followed behind his fuma shuriken to deliver a series of quick strikes to the closest soldier. Naruto flicked out one of his daggers and brought it up to block a downward strike from the last soldier, and then he smirked and pulled the trigger. The shot collided with the enemy long sword and sent him stumbling back, where Leon took advantage of his imbalance to strike him with a concentrated Thunder spell. The spell sent enough magical power through his armor to short circuit it, making it explode and destroy his chest cavity.

Shrapnel from the ruined armor pelted the soldier trying to defend against Naruto's quick slashes and distracted him long enough for Naruto to sweep his legs. The shinobi rolled over and drove his dagger right into the downed soldier's neck. His last few words were gurgled out even as a nearby all suddenly exploded when the final soldier burst through it. Zell landed from what must have been a powerful high kick, and instead of hooting like an idiot he scanned the area for more soldiers. After spying no one nearby, he helped Naruto up so they could assess their current situation.

"Damn, those suits they wear are pretty resistant. Might have to leave the Taijutsu to you bro, seriously." Naruto grumbled good naturedly while Zell looked confused.

"Tai… what?" Zell asked rather intelligently.

"Talk later; we need to regroup with Seifer before we lose him. He is liable to get us all into something the way he is right now." Naruto replied quickly which earned two nods, though one was begrudged.

* * *

Team B made their way toward their objective quickly, meeting no more resistance as they moved along. Seifer hadn't met any resistance either as evident by the blood free streets. Eventually the three of them found the City Square, a round open air market area with a round fountain in the center surrounded by paved road for traffic. What remained of the Dollet road blacks were broken cars and shattered boxes, ripped sand bags and spilled gun powder. Shrapnel was everywhere, as was glass and spilled machine oil. Naruto wanted to vomit from the smell of death, fumes, and fear, but he was able to maintain his cool, especially when they found Seifer having an argument with a little street dog who wanted to be his friend.

"I said, go the fuck away you dumb dog! I have no bones for you, pest!" Seifer yelled, his voice echoing off the walls of the buildings nearby.

"Awoo?" The dog whined, tilting his head at the strange human who barked so loudly.

"Go. A. Way. GO AWAY! I don't care where you go, but you cannot stay here!" Seifer reiterated while the rest of his team watched in amusement.

The cute dog just stared innocently up at Seifer before suddenly turning and growling a little toward a couple boxes. Out from behind the boxes several solders rushed forward crying out for battle.

Naruto leapt forward, snatched the dog out of their path, and quickly leapt toward the back line behind Zell, Seifer, and Leon. Leon right away began preparing a focused Blizzard spell while Zell used his strength to throw a nearby box directly at them. The wooden box shattered on impact, and as an added bonus it had been full of apples so the ground was covered in slippery apple chunks. The initial attack wave had been five strong, but the box had snapped the neck of their point man leaving four alive. Now more alert, the four remaining soldiers navigated the slippery ground slowly, which gave Team B time to plan. Zell was first in line and sent a flurry of powerful low punches and kicks to try and get past the guard of his sword wielding enemy. The damn blade had a good reach, so Zell was very careful to keep an eye out for feints and tricks.

Meanwhile, Seifer had used a low level fire spell to block one of the enemies off from his group. Now one-on-one he took no time rushing for the soldier at breakneck speed. Steel struck steel, and the sound of a gun shot rang through the square as Seifer use his Gunblade to full effect. The vibrations weakened the grip of his enemy, and burned his gloves, but he was still in fighting shape. Seifer couldn't reload without disengaging, so he decided to use his speed to his advantage. Graceful like a dancer, his long Gunblade spun left and right, twirling and striking with the quickness of a cobra. The flurry soon overwhelmed the soldier who attempted a desperate spell cast. Seifer had enough time to move in and stab the man through the heart before he suffered a minor burn to his chest. His clothes took the brunt of the damage, but that was going to sting for a while.

Naruto was dodging spells left and right. The soldier had seen him retreat to the back line so he thought to distract Team B's caster. Naruto was playing a game of cat and mouse to distract the bastard while he kept his eye on the soldier who had hung back. Clearly the weak link who was shitting his pants watching his squad fight and fall. Deciding to really fuck with these soldiers, Naruto waited for his moment to strike. He saw the caster preparing a very strong ice spell, possibly Blizzara, so he held his hand in a half ram. Just as the spell cast, he performed a substitution with the last solder. The results were horrifyingly satisfying. The Blizzara spell struck the coward and froze him solid. For added effect, Zell had just performed a throw and sent his opponent toward the ice sculpture. The coward on ice shattered into several hundred pieces as what remained of his blood that was liquid showered the street.

The final soldier left standing fell into shock watching his fellow soldier turned into so many pieces of red gore. Leon let his magic essence burst in a powerful Blizzara of his own that made quick work of their final enemy. His corpse froze solid in seconds before crumbling on its own as the magic released. Naruto would have cheered their victory, but the sound of Zell vomiting nearby brought his mood crashing back down. This would be the first time any of them had killed a human… the first time is never easy. Naruto had spent several days in his room after his first intimate kill. There was a difference between raining a hundred shuriken onto a group of bandits. It was another to hold your hand over the mouth of a sentry while the life drained from his eyes.

Naruto eyed the mess of body parts that littered the street and felt a bit sick, but he choked it back. There would be time to mourn and regret later. Their mission was still active.

* * *

 **One Hour Later…**

"For the love of God… if this dog doesn't just go and leave me alone… I am going to seriously consider neutering him myself."

Seifer was livid. An hour… a fucking solid hour of nothing… nothing at all! Where the hell were the forces of evil he was promised when he signed up for this damned exam?! So far he had only slain a handful of enemies thanks to his cursed team mates stealing his kills! They were so infuriatingly nonchalant about their interferences! They had all spent the hour just… sitting and waiting, how could they!? This inactivity was driving him god damn batty…

And the God damned dog from hell was really starting to annoy the ever loving fuck out of him!

"Awoo?" The dog whined as he sat underneath an old wooden cart full of empty supply crates.

"No." Seifer replied, as if he could understand the beast.

"Awoo?" Hell dog whined again, tilting his head cutely to the side.

"I said no." Seifer began to twitch.

"Awoooooooooo~!" The dog suddenly howled.

Seifer was about to grab his sword until Naruto suddenly gave the signal to hunker down. Even Seifer wouldn't take the chance of ruining a perfectly good chance to fight by being a loud mouth, so he hid behind the large wheels of the old wooden cart while peering around the back end. Zell was crouched behind an old car that had been gutted and burned out, letting his uniform blend in nicely. Leon used the statue of the fountain to hide as he watched for the enemy. Naruto was seated up on top of an awning above the door of a blown out flower shop. He hugged the wall tightly to eliminate as much of his presence as possible. The enemy passed by right under him quietly, sneaking despite their heavy gear making plenty of racket. Their movement wasn't indicative of retreat, in fact it was more along the lines of standard infiltration formation with spotters, communications in the center, and a rear guard.

After they passed, Naruto leapt down gracefully and landed beside the dog who had wandered out of the way of the soldiers who passed. The blonde stroked the affectionate dog gently before looking at the team, "That was odd behavior for a war zone. Definitely not pulling back. I reckon they were looking for something here in the city and that group found it."

Zell rubbed his chin as he thought hard, "Hmm, well… if they were heading that way… they might be after the old Comms Tower up there."

The team looked where he pointed toward a large tower up in the mountains. Seifer scoffed, "Pathetic, it doesn't even have any strategic value. Why take a huge old spire?"

"I remember reading about that tower in a book back at the Garden. It's one of like, three satellites left that is powerful enough to broadcast live feeds over the world. Might be a solid target to help with propaganda?" Naruto suggested while the others considered his input.

"Doesn't matter, our orders are clear. Stay put." Leon said simply after he'd made up his mind.

Seifer grumbled, "That propaganda… sounds pretty villainous to me. We should go and stop them!"

"No, we were given very strict orders. We will be in deep trouble if we disobey command." Leon stated as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

Zell nodded, "Yeah, I agree, we better stick to orders. No need going after more than we can handle."

"For God's sake, what the hell is wrong with you people!? As leader of Team B I say we follow those soldiers and stop them from taking the tower!" Seifer exclaimed in a blind fury as his tolerance of their idiocy and cowardice had finally broken.

Leon sighed and grabbed his sword, causing Zell to jump in shock. He was even more taken back when he noticed Naruto securing his tool bag and checking his holster, "You two just going to fucking go along with this!?"

"Zell, why don't you just shut up, hm?" Leon said, shocking the entire team.

"Ex….excuse me?" Zell asked while shaking with anger.

Leon flicked the hair in his eyes back with his hand while wiping away some grime from their recent battles, "Orders are orders, no matter who they come from. Team leader says we go, we go. That is that. Get over it or you can stay back and go back to class with the rest of the cadets."

"Ditto bro, but without the rude tone. Just go with it, trust me. We need the experience anyway! Silver linings bro!" Naruto struck a good-guy pose while trying to encourage his reluctant buddy.

Zell sighed heavily, _'Fuck I hate when he does that stupid pose…;_

* * *

Selphie was bored out of her mind. She and her team had been assigned the task of finding and disabling the main communications cable that the Galbadian forces had been using to organize. The lack of proper airwaves to communicate had struck a heavy blow to the modern military that had to rely on heavily guarded cables. SeeD were too busy clearing a path for the Dollet Army to make a solid push back to waste time looking for big wires. Selphie had felt excited with the prospect of her mission, but now she was just disappointed.

The wire had been recklessly hidden along the gutters of one of the older streets several blocks from the market. Her team leader had been relieved that their mission was so easily handled, but she was very suspicious. As far as she had heard in both Trabia and Balamb, Galbadia was one of the foremost technologically savvy countries in the world. Their tactics and battlefield awareness were legendary going back to their war with the enigmatic city-state of Esther. Why would they be so careless with something to important to their battle plans? Surely they weren't so arrogant as to leave their only form of communication vulnerable and out in the open?

She had just picked a piece of dirt off of her left boot when the door of the building they were using for cover opened and a SeeD runner walked in with his hands in a passive position. When the alarm in the room had died down the SeeD agent handed their leader a missive before rushing out to continue his deliveries. Her team leader read through the missive before going slightly pale. He looked at his team and cleared his throat.

"All right you two listen up, we got a second objective. We are to split up and search for Teams B, C, and D. We are then to deliver these letters to their leaders. Who wants to take who?"

Selphie stepped up without hesitation, "I'm our fastest runner, I will head forward to catch Team B."

He handed her the missive which she quickly read. Standard procedure for SeeD is to deliver messages in enemy territory by memory rather than with paper, to prevent the enemy from gaining intelligence. She wasn't thrilled with what she read:

 _All SeeD and Cadet Teams are to pull back out of the city. Departure time: T-02:00._

* * *

 **One Hour after Retreat Order When We Left Our Boys…**

The trip up to the Communication Tower was… not fun. It would have been fine if they had to fight soldiers. In fact, Naruto would have loved to fight some of those mechanized monsters that they had been told about. No, the Galbadian soldiers had all been decimated before they even started their climb. To Naruto's horror, the team was forced to fight against big ass fucking snakes. Why did it have to be snakes? He hated snakes, damn it! The silver lining here had been that Naruto wasn't afraid of them, so he took a certain amount of perverted pleasure in destroying the slippery bastards.

Halfway up to the top Seifer slipped away during one of their battles and had gone ahead to try and secure most of the glory of the battles for himself. Naruto was thoroughly annoyed when he noticed their leader gone, but he was certain the best idea would be to push forward to find him. That's why he, Leon, and Zell were currently standing on top of a steep cliff overlooking the entrance to the tower which was unguarded, but the military presence was evident by the signs of forced entry. Leon had been silent since he told off Zell, and Zell had been pretty passive with all their battles taking the bite out of him. Naruto was seriously contemplating just jumping down the damn cliff to avoid the long ass walk around the cliff side.

"Fudge nuggets!" A familiar voice cried out behind them, followed by the sound of tumbling rocks.

Naruto perked up right away and turned to see his perky little friend from Trabia clumsily making her way down the shoddy rock face. Anticipating her eventual fall, Naruto walked over casually while counting down with one hand. At zero, she tumbled down, but he was there to catch her in his arms like a bride being carried over a threshold. Her resulting blush was almost as hilarious as her words.

"Freaking pervert, get off of me!"

Naruto laughed as he set her down on her feet. The other two guys watched in confusion, and in the case of Zell amusement.

"Sorry Selphie-chan, but a gentleman never lets a lady down. I'm glad to see you doing well, not even a scratch. Guess we really cleared out the nests on our way up, hah!" Naruto laughed while trying to forget the snakes he obliterated.

Selphie brought a finger to her temple in thought, "You know, I did see an awful lot of guts all over the place. That was you? Wait, we can talk about that later, where is Seifer Almasy?"

Cue douche bag, "I will be the knight these people need! You hear me, you idiots! Stay out of my way, and maybe someday I will tell you fools about my ROMANTIC dream!"

"That would be him running into the tower behind us." Naruto said with a casual flick of his thumb.

Selphie deadpanned, "You… you've got to be kidding me, right?"

"We are wasting time discussing my luck with teammates. Let's get you to that idiot so we can hear this message of yours!" Naruto yelled before grabbing his three companions and leaping clean off the cliff top. Three screams of fear filled the area startling birds and sending smaller monsters scurrying to their hiding places.

Naruto used a bit of chakra in his feet to soften the landing before setting down three shaking teens. Instead of excitement or compliments, Naruto was decked right in the face and sent flying back into the cliff wall the four of them had just been standing at the top of. Zell stood back watching and wondering where the hell the little chick found that kind of strength, but what really confused him was the split second where Naruto clearly saw the hit coming, but took it anyway. Why would someone he had never landed a solid strike to just… take a punch that hard? Leon, who had no idea the kind of ridiculous skills Naruto had due to never having faced the blonde, was just impressed with the velocity that he hit the wall. People weren't meant to leave dents in solid rocks…

Selphie panted slowly before calming her nerves and dusting off her skirt, "There, I feel a bit better. Don't you ever freak me out like that again you idiot!"

Naruto stood up from his place on the ground and cracked his back loudly. Besides a bit of dust on his clothes, he looked untouched, "You got it."

Leon, Zell and Selphie watched Naruto brush off being attacked by a teammate like he had been through this kind of thing before, and all of them were wondering how much truth there was in those words. He seemed fine on the surface, which was enough for Leon who followed the blonde into the main doors of the tower. Selphie recovered first, having only known Naruto for a little while she figured if he was bothered he would have been honest about it, much like he wore most of his emotions on his sleeves. Zell smelled something off about the whole thing, and even though he knew he should be focused, he couldn't help worrying. A holler from his friend inside the tower caught his attention and he jogged inside to catch up.

"Guys, come and Draw some of the stat magic essence here." Naruto indicated a spot near the corner of the room.

Inside the Comms Tower was what one would expect. The walls seemed to be made of nothing but wires and steel girders. Grates covered the maintenance area underneath the floor, and several inactive monitors were built into the walls at average head height. Naruto was off to the right side of the room crouched over a spot that seemed empty. Selphie was the only other cadet who seemed to notice anything there, and immediately brought her palm to her face to focus. Leon followed and blinked, before mirroring her actions. Zell stood scratching his head while wondering what was up.

"Yo, the essence here is strong enough to Draw magic. What I can tell, its status magic, causes Blindness. Makes sense it is here considering how long the place has been closed up in the dark. Get your ass over here and pack some away. Never know where it will Junction well with your buffs." Naruto said while standing up and forming a half ram seal.

Zell wasn't very into the magical arts since he focused on his hand to hand skill so much, but he wasn't completely clueless. He walked over to the pocket of magical energy and focused on its center. When he pulled, he felt several essence flow into him, and he became vaguely aware of their purpose. It was always strange to discover a new spell for the first time. Somehow the body would adapt and learn very basic information on the spell, and the user would have to train in its use later on to master it. When he was done, he noticed the others already inspecting an elevator. He joined them and noticed Selphie working with her Junction watch diligently.

"I got the switch. Ready?" Leon asked while looking around. Getting the thumb up from everyone else, he nodded and banged his fist on the rusty old button.

* * *

Up top, with his bulky armored head stuck deep inside the machinery he had been tasked with salvaging, was a man by the name of Major Biggs. Biggs was a simple military man with a simple military career killing insurgents and maintaining peace for the mother land. He had never met the President, hell he had never met the Secretary of Commerce, and he had been assigned guard duty at the man's estate a half a dozen times! But that was perfectly fine for a man like Biggs, because he didn't need complications in his simple life. He had no wife, no family to tie him down, just a stunningly boring job shooting at people. Yes, life was certainly working out for Major Biggs… until Dollet.

Being assigned to the offensive task force laying siege to Dollet, Biggs had high hopes of decimating these holy rollers and mowing through them with his trusty Gatling gantlet as Elite Soldiers are wont to do. He wasn't assigned to the first wave, nor the Mechanized Division, and not the Mountain Pursuit Squads. No, he was assigned this pitiful mission… he wasn't a God damned television repair man! He was ordered to climb to the top of this worthless spire and get the place up and running no matter what. There hadn't even been a guard detail for crying out loud! For all intents and purposes, the Dollet populace seemed to have just abandoned the place!

The only silver lining in this was that he had his trusty side kick Lieutenant Wedge by his side. The two of them were very distant cousins, and when Wedge had graduated the academy back in Galbadia he was sent directly to Biggs. It was tough conditioning the young hopeful to obey his commands properly. Even now, as he felt confident in the loyalty he had drilled into the young officer, he knew that some orders had to be given in threat form. It was common knowledge among their base back home that Wedge wanted children some day, so if you threaten the man's jewels, he jumps to obey.

Biggs was fairly certain that this time, take seventy eight, his work matched schematics they had found in an office on the second floor of the tower. Wedge was worrying over something behind him, but he could care less with his face caked in grease and his beautiful red uniform burned and torn in several places from failed attempts. He had just reattached the power supply to the machine and with a prayer, he threw the main switch to initiate the systems. Instead of fire, razor sharp gears exploding, or god forbid that piston that had come out of nowhere to smash his groin… the place came alive!

"Fuck yes, finally!" Biggs exclaimed while watching his work.

As Naruto, Leon, Zell, and Selphie stepped of the lift and onto the top floor maintenance area the entire building began shaking violently. Naruto gestured toward the base of the spire where large turbines, sticky from decay and disuse, ground to life and turned with gaining speed. Leon heard movement above and saw the entire upper portion of the spire morph and shape into a large dish. The living statue stood contemplating what was really going on with the odd Comms Tower, but he was quickly shaken from his thoughts by the sound of Zell's angry yelling.

"Yo, dude, what the fuck are you up to up here!?" Zell pointed at Biggs with an angry glare.

Biggs, having come down from his victory high, turned to see four brats watching him with varying degrees of curiosity. He wondered if he were being pranked at first, until he saw the SeeD cadet uniforms and he began to sweat. He was a confident man with no qualms about killing anything in his way. Fucking around with SeeD was not something simple, and as a simple man, Biggs was feeling very nervous. He looked around for Wedge, but couldn't find him.

' _He better be dead, or I am going to kill him twice…'_ Biggs thought while edging toward the lift.

"I er… this is none of your concern. My mission is complete anyway so uh… I think I will just take my- AH MY FUCKING GOD IN HEAVEN!" Biggs was speaking slowly while nonchalantly making his way over to the lift. He had been a few steps away when someone had sliced his shoulder plate clean in half, which of course scared the loving hell out of him. Everyone finally noticed Seifer who had joined them only a moment before during the transformation of the tower. Naruto had been too focused on the noise of the machine to notice the hum of the lift.

"This whole tower was full of nothing but a bunch of wimps. You're not worth my time anymore." Seifer said while cleaning his blade of blood from his previous kills. Naruto noticed the lift going down again and realized they would soon have some company.

"Don't mock me you pathetic little twerp! I am MAJOR BIGGS!" Biggs growled while the Gatling gun on his wrist seemed to come to life.

Seifer scoffed and ignored the angry yelling from Biggs to turn his back to the whole party, "Team B, make yourselves useful and deal with this piece of trash."

Biggs looked indignant while he grit his teeth roughly. He turned to the sound of Wedge rushing up to his side from the lift that had just arrived. The blue clad younger man adjusted his helmet before drawing his long sword. Naruto noticed idly that his stance was more practiced and balanced than the blue soldiers they had faced before. With no proper Kenjutsu training, he knew that he would need to avoid that man for now. Naruto's motto ran through his mind: confident, not crazy!

"Leon, Selphie, you guys take blueberry. Zell and I will handle big red." He flicked out his Gunblade daggers and launched forward toward Biggs landing a solid kick to his chest to separate the two soldiers. Zell quickly followed behind Naruto, while Leon brought out his long sword to clash with Wedge fiercely so the man wouldn't think to regroup with his superior.

Naruto had to dodge several volleys of concentrated gun fire as he danced around the platform toward Biggs. Zell was circling around to flank the large red man using the cover of boxes and equipment that was scattered around the place. Naruto saw an opening while Biggs had to reload and so he flashed forward in a blue and slammed his fist into the man's lightly armored stomach. He heard the air rush out of his opponent, but due to the armor he knew it wasn't a significant hit. Naruto dodged strike aimed at his bent back and switch out as Zell leapt in to deliver a series of strong strikes to Biggs's face and chest. Naruto could hear a rib break before Zell leapt back to gain space for a jump kick. Before he could, Biggs brought up his gun to fire, but he blinked when Zell faded away and was replaced by Naruto. Naruto was in mid throw and soon several senbon needles struck Biggs' gun barrels and effectively jammed the mechanism.

As he stood there trying to fix the damned weapon, he jolted up right when a shadow overcast him. He looked up in time to see a foot an inch from his face, when time resumed from a momentary stand still, he was struck by multiple kicks to his upper body that sent him flying like a rag doll.

"Mach Kick Whirlwind!" Zell called out while delivering the devastating aerial kicks. Naruto couldn't hide the smirk when he heard the attack that Zell used and saw its resemblance to the story he had told his fellow blonde about his old acquaintance.

Meanwhile, Leon was exchanging heavy blows with Wedge who, though he lacked confidence like his leader, was skilled enough to keep himself alive. Leon wasn't giving this his all because he hoped to question the man, but if worst came to worst, he would do what needed to be done. A particularly hard overhead swing brought his heavy blade to bear on Wedge who ended up taking a knee to withstand the blow. He broke from the clash and rolled to the side to try and regain his breath, but he felt a surge of heat strike his side. He flew back from the explosive Fire spell and landed by the side of his leader who was in a daze. Wedge gulped as all four teens walked over toward them slowly. It was then, as he prayed for a miracle, that he felt the air around him start to swirl.

Naruto and company watched as a large funnel cloud formed and they braced against the strong winds. Their two enemies vanished into the vortex before slamming into the base of the support stem for the large, now very active satellite dish above. The strong winds kicked up dust and tools, sending boxes flying and all manner of other chaos. Naruto used his chakra to stick to the floor, but the grate like surface had nearly nothing to connect to. Before he knew it, he was slipping and the damned vortex was headed straight for him. With the chaos distracting him from concentrating on anything nearby, he felt time slow down.

' _Fuck… not even I am going to survive this fall…'_

Selphie had found a loose cable to hold onto like a tether as the strong winds surged around them. She could barely make out anything through the dust being thrown around, but she did see a familiar sunny blond mop slipping toward the edge of the platform. She tried to cry out, but her voice was muffled. There was nothing she could do except scream in horror as she saw him fly off and vanish behind the edge of the platform. Zell caught sight of the same unfortunate event, slamming his fist down hard on the grating beneath him where he lay prone and holding desperately to the ground. His first real friend, the guy who had helped teach him how to truly improve…

Leon saw Naruto fly off, saw him fall, and he was shocked. The guy had always seemed… indestructible with that enormous confidence he always exuded. It was daunting to think he was gone just like that, due to some freak act of weather during their victory. As the wind died down even further, Leon was even more shocked by what followed. Seifer… the jerk who always got people in trouble and was a notorious show off with few friends…ran to the edge of the platform while screaming out in frustration. He dropped to his knees and slammed his fist into the grate so hard the metal dented and fractured.

"The fuck, you bastard?! What the hell do you think you are doing dying like that!? I never said you were allowed to give up and die like this, you son of a bitch! Is this one of your sick pranks to fuck with me as team leader?! You get... your stupid… idiotic… cocky ass… back up here… I never told you about my dream…" Seifer trailed off and fought back his emotions as best he could, not wanting to be vulnerable for even a second.

Everyone suddenly gasped when they heard the voice echo from below, "Cleave the Sky, Raikiri!"

Leon watched from his position the furthest away from the edge of the platform as blue streaks of lightning struck the clouds above causing them to grow dark and angry. His hair rose up as static electricity flowed through everything around him and his party. Then, from below, Naruto suddenly shot into the sky standing on the back of the GF Quezacotl. The Thunder Bird was stunningly bright with charged electricity that caused his usually dull blue markings to glow brilliantly. Quezacotl, or to Naruto Raikiri, let loose a loud cry that pierced the mountains and shook the tower. Leon looked at Naruto and the two shared a glance before he saw the knucklehead grin and wink.

"You can tell me all about your dream when you're ready for me to hear it, Seifer. For now, you four get the hell out of there, there is a big fucking monster up there that I need to handle. This is my responsibility, so go on ahead. Selphie-chan, don't forget to give Seifer the message!" Naruto called out before he and Raikiri flew up towards a massive shadow above.

Seifer stared after Naruto with a scowl, but that was soon replaced with a grin of his own. He should have figured that bastard would survive something like that and then come back with something so theatrical. Some day that would be him, and he would be the one surprising Naruto, but that day would have to wait a little longer. He turned to his remaining teammates plus Selphie and scowled again, "So… what is this about a message?"

* * *

 **With Naruto…**

" _ **Naruto-kun, this is Shiva, did brother reach you in time?" Shiva asked with concern.**_

' _No worries, Raikiri got here just in time. We're about to go fuck up this big… weird wasp looking thing with a big ass chin.'_

Naruto could hear her sigh of relief and he smiled at her caring gesture, _**"I'm glad you're unharmed. Please be careful, and be sure to summon me soon."**_

" **Naruto, we have an issue to deal with. Let sister Shiva know to expect company, but I am unsure of who yet."** Raikiri reminded Naruto calmly as he kept his attention on the menacing beast that was guarding its nest at the top of the tower.

' _Oh right, Raikiri said to tell you that you should be ready for company in the Mindscape, but he isn't sure who.' Naruto said into his mind, but when he heard no response he cut the connection._

Little did Naruto know, Shiva and Ifrit had heard him and were shocked and concerned. As far as either of them knew, none of their brethren had taken to Dollet in centuries, and even then there had been no one who could utilize their aid. Ifrit sat back in his newly built obsidian throne while tapping his sharp claws on the arm rest. Shiva was seated on one of her fluffy snow clouds with a serious look on her face. The two of them exchanged a worried look, but neither said anything. Kyu, who was sitting in his tall grass near the back, observed quietly. Being a total outsider he had no idea of the implications.

Outside, Raikiri was thinking on the situation much the same way Shiva and Ifrit were. He lost his train of thought when he felt a surge of thunder essence spike inside the beast they were facing off, and another vortex of strong wind nearly struck them. Naruto was able to crouch and cling with chakra to stay on Raikiri, but just barely due to the strong magical wind.

" **Naruto, I am afraid I will not be as helpful as I would like to be. This monster possesses strong thunder based magic, and his resistances will also be high. I will still fight with every ounce of my strength with you."** Raikiri said with confidence.

Naruto patted Raikiri on the back of his head gently, "Don't worry, we will think of something!"

Naruto formed a hand seal that one of his past aquaintences used for her special brand of techniques and then focused his spell, "Scan!"

 _ **Elvoret… strong versus magical attacks… decent health… weak against physical attacks… few low level spells…**_

Naruto's eyes widened when he finished going through the surge of information, and then he growled angrily. Raikiri heard the anger in his summoner's voice and backed away from the monster to gain a bit of distance for comfort, **"What is it Naruto, what did you see?"**

"That thing… that is where your sister Siren is. She is sealed inside that fucking monster! Get me in close bro, I will attempt to draw her out!" Naruto yelled as they pair dodged another shot of strong wind.

Raikiri roared an angry call that even people in the city below shivered from. It was the anguished cry of someone who had been told something heartbreaking. Raikiri had always found Siren to be the most agreeable of their family, and so the two spent endless centuries together contemplating the universe and their place in the grand tapestry of life. When Siren had gone missing it never made sense to him, even if the others assured him that she was just taking a break from the trouble world of humans. His blazing blue eye markings honed in on the beast before him, and he shot through the air like a streak of lightning. The two collided and sent a shock wave through the hills nearby causing landslides.

Naruto was in the lotus position using all of his chakra control to remain on the back of his battling bird brother. The magical essence within the Elvoret was larger than anything he had seen outside of his GFs. Even as the battle outside his mind intensified with the use of Tornado spells, focused Thundaga magic, and physical attacks that could level mountains, Naruto was able to stretch his Draw magic tendril toward the entity. When the connection was made, he was immediately pulled toward the core of the Elvoret's pool of magic essence. The fight for dominance had begun.

Raikiri was flying circles around the slow beast and striking from as many sides as he could. He was unable to go all out for fear of what may happen to Siren if the creature died. Raikiri took a strong hit to his side when he fell for a feint the monster made, and now three large gashes were slowly healing on his side. The bird was glad that Naruto had such potent and abundant magic within him, or that kind of hit would have sent him back to his own realm to heal. Flipping in mid flight to avoid another quick strike, he focused power into his wing and it crackled with lightning. In a flash, the Elvoret lost a good sized portion of his tail stinger, which set the beast to rage.

Inside, Naruto pulled and pulled on the magic trying to get the upper hand. He could feel his magic draining, and he knew what would happen if he failed. Then he felt it… it was a strange familiar sensation. In his mind he tried to picture it, and soon enough an all too familiar image appeared. The Elvoret… had an invisible seal on his stomach… and inside he could feel Siren surging her power to try and escape. Naruto kept his connection strong and kept pulling as he spoke with his mouth.

"Raikiri… aim a burst of pure… magical energy… at that thing's stomach. No elements… just magic. Quickly, and give it everything you can spared!"

Raikiri heard the order and without hesitation he built up a burst of pure magic in his beak. This kind of attack was not something that could cause damage, so most GFs kept to their assigned elemental magic for power. Whatever his little blond summoner had planned he hoped it would work, because after this he would have maybe enough for a final attack to finish this damned thing once and for all. Raikiri waited for the right moment, not wanting to miss. The Elvoret became impatient and charged toward the pair of pests bothering its nesting area. Raikiri smirked inwardly and just as the beast was upon him, he let loose a beam of pure magic that struck it directly in the stomach. Not expecting anything to happen, Raikiri nearly fell out of the sky when he saw a complex array of symbols appear and then shatter.

Naruto felt the resistance crumble, and yanked Siren from her prison along with as much essence as his body could handle to replenish what he had lost. Because he was using his chakra to attach to Raikiri, the bird felt a rush of energy return to his body causing him to glow brilliantly once again. Naruto opened his eyes and stood up, his eyes glowing with all the magical energy inside his body. Every part of him pulsed and radiated with such rich power than it was intoxicating. He felt God damned invincible. He scowled angrily at the Elvoret hat had flown back to recover its lost energy.

"Raikiri, fly up high and get your static ready. When I say so, launch a wide area pulse of electricity. Make sure it is… magnetizing." Naruto reached into his tool pouch and unsealed a scroll.

Raikiri let loose a malicious laugh that was very uncharacteristic as he climbed upward through the air. In an act of flair, he swirled and spun at the pinnacle of his flight only to flick his wings out to his sides sharply. Static became visible and danced across his featherless wings as he prepared the attack. Naruto stepped onto his shoulder and the bird could feel his magic focus in his arms. In a flash, three large stars of metal flew into the air and Raikiri wondered why he had used to few.

"Shuriken Shadow Clones: Thousand Birds Strike!"

Raikiri watched the three large fuma shuriken suddenly turn into three thousand that all spread across the sky, sometimes flying in arcs. He then understood what Naruto wanted him to do, and if he had the mouth for it, he would grin. He settled for adding his half of the combination ability Naruto had invented and sent the static built up into the air. Each shuriken became charges and lightning danced across the metal. The charge given to the shuriken was the magnetic opposite of the charge that struck the Elvoret. Suddenly, the large star blades began to orbit the beast and gain speed due to the slingshot effect. The orbits closed slowly, and then all of them converged in the center, slicing the creature into hundreds of pieces. The Thunder magic only enhanced the cutting power, giving the beast no chance to survive. Blood rained down onto the city below, and Naruto hoped that no one would be crushed by the falling chunks.

Raikiri was awed by the carnage that he had just helped create. Usually he would arrive in battles for mere moments and fill the area with powerful shocks. This summoner… he brought out the true power that he knew he had. When people spoke of his weak strength in battle it had always irked him. He challenged anyone to question him now.

Naruto was busy scanning the city below to try and find his team. By this time they ought to have made it back to the city, unless their orders were to continue to another objective. That was when he spotted a familiar head of curly brown hair bouncing and moving quick as the wind through the Market Square they had been stationed earlier. The team was all behind her moving as quick as possible, except for Seifer who seemed to have vanished. Knowing that idiot, he had gone off alone again. Naruto was about to have Raikiri drop him off with his team, when he noticed a big ass crab made of black steel plowing through homes and business and headed straight for his team and Selphie!

"Raikiri, I know you need to go soon so we can't fight, but see if you can drop me off at the beach so I can meet up with my team. Looks like trouble is right up their asses." Naruto said while patting the large bird on the shoulder.

Raikiri nodded and flew as quickly as he could, but he was tired and slightly wounded so he could only barely keep up with the people running below. Naruto knew he wouldn't be any help in their situation so he kept his eyes open for any trouble ahead. Thankfully, the foot soldiers inside the city must have pulled a full retreat earlier. Speaking of a retreat, he didn't see any of the forward SeeD teams either, which didn't bode well. Naruto saw Leon summon Shiva to the field below to try and freeze the ground and trip up the crab. Naruto saw her wink up at him before she faded away, and he groaned as his face went red.

" **We have arrived at the beach, Naruto. I will swoop down so you may leap from my back, but then I will dissipate. Please be careful, and thank you for what you have done for Siren."**

Naruto didn't get to reply as the two suddenly dove straight down toward the beach. Only three boats remained, two of which were SeeD Command Teams' rides. When the gathered SeeD saw the great thunder bird they gave whoops and cheers for their host GF, thought none of them expected for someone to leap off of him and land on the ground. Naruto regained his balance just as he heard people crying out in shock. He turned and saw Selphie rushing his way followed by Zell. Leon was still up on the street level when he suddenly leapt down toward the beach with the huge crab monster right on his heels. A claw was a mere inch from Leon.

Everyone gasped when Leon suddenly vanished, and was replaced by Naruto who was holding some kind of blue magic essence in his palm. Everyone saw the robot lurch when it was struck, and then the sand kicked up as whirling winds surrounded Naruto. Everyone heard the grinding of metal being drilled into by something. And then, the crab walker shot backward and into the air the same way it had come. Several hundred rounds of armor piercing bullets rained into the face plate of the bot once it was away from the cadets. When the thing laid lifeless and still, silence filled the beach front and no one wanted to be that guy to break it. Well, no one except…

"Damn that thing was really cool! Why don't we have those?" Naruto exclaimed while turning toward what remained of the Balamb Garden forces.

Quistis, who had been the one to fire the turret on the top of their boat, let her head fall lightly forward to rest on the targeting screen. Zell was laughing his ass off where he had fallen on the deployment ramp of their boat. Selphie was on her knees in the sand watching her blonde friend with a mix of relief and annoyance. Leon, well he was on his ass looking at the face plate of the robot by street level. Besides the massive bullet holes, the damn thing had caved in. One spell had caved in solid steel designed to withstand even the impact of forbidden magic spells. Naruto looked around like a performer who had been expecting applause before shrugging and walking into their boat.

Leon only had one thought, ' _What the hell is he?'_

* * *

 **Konoha Chronicles…**

Tsunade was so very tired. Life the past month had been very stressful. Word of Naruto's fate had escaped the village and spread like wild fire, and she had received so many requests to have her former teammate executed. No one could have imagined how much of an impact Naruto had on the people he had met during his travels. There were even two letters that she had received from foreign female leaders who were furious that their 'future husband' had been allowed to come to harm. She had to be restrained from seeking those women out and killing them for implying that Naruto would have had anything to do with them… the damn foreign hussies.

The Black Op mission that the Jonin sensei of Konoha had undertaken had resulted in a plethora more than they had intended. While maintaining his spy network, it seemed that Jiraiya had been involved in many illegal business ventures that not only lined his pockets, but had actually stolen from the village in some ways. He had used his influence to feed his lust for women and had even invested money in illegal brothels in exchange for free services. Then there were all the acts of embezzlement where Jiraiya had been sent to negotiate peace and trade agreements and then had kept the records and funds received under the guise of being betrayed. So many allies among the Merchants Guild had been lost because of that bastard.

The biggest piece of information had been the memory Yamanaka Inoichi had extracted from him while he was heavily sedated. Inoichi had been retired from his work in the Intelligence department for some time, focusing on leading his clan's financial front. When asked for his assistance, he had been all too eager to help, explaining that he owed the boy that much. When asked what he meant in private, Inoichi had explained a very little known history that the Yamanaka clan had with Uzumaki Naruto that centered around a young blond bombshell. It all began back when the kids were in the academy, and ended roughly around the time when… Naruto nearly didn't come back home.

When the kids had turned eight, the village was excited beyond measure. So many prosperous clans in Konoha had their children attending the school, and they promised to be quite an exceptional generation of ninjas. Inoichi had been right there with the rest of the parents doting over his little girl and awaiting the chance to see her grow. Little Ino was so outspoken and friendly, and he was sure she would make so many friends that it wouldn't matter who she ended up on a team with should the Hokage decide to skip the famous combo team this generation. He remembered the first day when the kids were gathered outside to await the first day of classes. Ino had been playing with her best friend, that loud little girl with the bad temper.

Ino had been caught up with chatting to his old team mates when his daughter had taken notice of him. You see, while the other children were eager to meet and greet, one blonde boy had been sitting on a swing alone awaiting the beginning of classes. This boy was unassuming and easily missed so far away to the side of everyone else, but his daughter had seen him. Curious as Ino always was at that time in her life, she decided to go and meet the lonely boy on the swings. Inoichi had been ignorant to the situation until he heard the familiar sound of his daughter yelling in irritation. Spinning around, he saw a civilian that he didn't recognize pulling Ino back towards the other children while trying to reassure her of something that he didn't know. He looked in the direction that had come and finally laid eyes on the boy. He didn't know if he had started that way, but the boy looked downcast and drained of life. When the bell rang and everyone else ran inside to begin class, he waited until he wouldn't be near any of the others before walking toward the school.

Inoichi knew about the boy, knew of the rumors circling about the child being some sort of monster. Eight years ago he had been on that persuasion himself, eager to see the beast struck down and cast back to where ever those things came from. During the eight years after his anger had been tempered, and he realized the folly of his reasoning back then, but to his regret it came too late. He had seen neither hide nor hair of the child in all those years until that day when his daughter had wandered too close, and he hadn't been paying attention in order to intervene with the civilian putting lies into her head. Every school day after that, Naruto would always be in the same spot, but his daughter dared not go anywhere near him. Inoichi was very sad with how things had turned out, but there was nothing he could do to change the mind of his stubborn little girl.

Two years after the kids had started at the academy, the calm and well behaved boy that Naruto was had become a complete menace. More often than not he would be chased through the village while performing all manner of practical jokes. Most of the shinobi in town found it irritating, but refreshing as well due to the dull days of peace they enjoyed. The civilians, his primary targets, wanted him dead on a pike. Among his class mates there was no one left untouched… except one. Ino, his pride and joy, heiress to the clan, had an unspoken immunity to the effects of any pranks pulled. One particularly spectacular prank that left the entire class room of students covered in honey and down feathers had only been made more grand by the fact that Ino, her bag, her everything had been left clean and safe.

Ino paid no mind to such things, too obsessed with another boy that had caught her best friend's eye. Their friendship became a heated rivalry that wound up hindering Ino's growth, as well as blinding her to something that was startlingly obvious to her two best male friends, Shikamaru and Choji. Inoichi remembered seeing those two spend time with the young blond, though he knew it was in private away from the eyes of the villagers. It was a damn shame the boy couldn't have friends who he could proudly stand beside.

Things became interesting for the clan when Naruto began showing up in the flower shop every week on Fridays. Fridays were the days when Ino worked with him watering and cutting the flowers while he manned the register. The boy had been so timid during his first visit, bringing in only enough loose change to afford cheap seed packages. Several months later he would come in not only with change for seeds, but with plants for sale. Inoichi had always felt a small pang of sadness seeing the boy bringing in plants grown in take-out ramen bowls. Normally he wouldn't buy from private growers, but he felt for the poor boy and gave him a fair deal on all the plants he brought in. On each visit he would linger around, glancing toward the back to catch a glimpse of Ino. Ino would always avoid him like the plague, and the boy would always leave those days looking deflated.

Things went on like this until graduation, and still afterward during those weeks while the kids were stuck in their D-ranks. The boy would take private solo D-ranks after his team returned for the day to help in the Yamanaka greenhouses. Inoichi wasn't stupid, he knew why the boy was doing it, but because he could see the boy was genuinely kind beneath the surface he let it go. He wished he had stopped it after… that day.

Ino had just returned from another D-rank to help elderly villagers at the local old folks apartment block get their shopping done. It was tiring, but one of her favorites because the old ladies always doted on her for her cute face and pretty hair. On that particular day Naruto had been working in the storage room behind the front counter, happy to have work to do that would help his strength training. Inoichi had been up front leaning casually over the counter and reading a catalogue of new flowers and plants available to be ordered. Ino walked in with her loud little friend and the two had clearly been talking about things no boy wants to hear.

"…and Sasuke's body is so hot when he is training so hard. I am so jealous of you, Sakura." Ino was saying.

Sakura sighed heavily, "Don't be, while I try to watch Sasuke-kun train I have to worry about that idiot getting in the way."

Ino looked at her funny, "Idiot? Who is that?"

Sakura looked incredulous, "You know, Naruto, the idiot blonde who is always yelling and making a fool of himself. He had a crush on you at the academy. Ring any bells?"

"Oh, Naruto, right! Wait, he had a crush… on me? Oh ew, you have got to be kidding me! Now I feel dirty." Ino shivered.

Inoichi flinched when he heard a small sniffle in the back room.

"I know, he is probably the most disgusting person in the village. Whenever he touches me during training or missions I have to quickly wash my hands. Have you seen how dirty his clothes and hair are most of the time? It's like he has no idea how to clean himself." Sakura said while laughing.

Ino retched and put on an ugly face, "Ugh, that loser will always be alone. I wish you hadn't told me about that crush he had. Kind of makes me sick thinking he was even looking at me."

Inoichi was ready to put a stop to this when the back door opened up to reveal Naruto standing there with his eyes cast in shadow. The girls looked over and flushed realizing they had probably been caught talking all of their bullshit. Naruto seemed to have a hard time keeping his emotions in check, but Inoichi gave him credit for not breaking anything as he gently closed the back door and removed the apron that he had been given. Naruto folded up the apron and placed it in a bin labeled for dirty linens. Turning to the elder in the room, Naruto bowed at the hip before standing back up with his eyes still covered.

"Thank you very much for the opportunity to work for you, Yamanaka-san. I regret that I will be too busy to return again. I wish you good fortune in your business."

Naruto didn't wait for a reply before walking toward the front door of the shop, making sure to give the girls a nice wide space between them. He stopped briefly at the door and turned his head over his shoulder to speak quietly, "I will be sure to keep my hands to myself from this day forward, Haruno. As well as my eyes diverted, Yamanaka."

Inoichi remembered that from that day on, Naruto never came near the shop again, not even in passing. When Ino was sent on missions and needed backup from an assault team, Naruto would always decline those missions despite his need for financial support. And when that incident happened… Team Ten weren't able to visit Naruto in his recovery room and were given many excuses from the Hokage that were never very straightforward.

Tsunade watched out her window into the village below as she thought about everything that she had been told in the past month. Sometimes it seemed like it was all a bunch of horse shit. But then… if it were, then where was Naruto? Was he safe? Was he eating properly? Had he found someone who would treat him well? Had he found a new home? Her desire to answer these questions was why they had Jiraiya recreating a perfect replica of the faulty seal he had used that night based on the memory he had been forced to relive several dozen times. It pained her to put his through this hell, but in the end he deserved everything he was getting and more.

They had to get to Naruto… they had to find a way to contact him somehow. And if possible… they needed to bring him back!

* * *

 _ **Poll results so far (top three):**_

 _ **Shiva: 31**_

 _ **Quistis: 19**_

 _ **Siren: 10**_

 _ **Thank you guys so much for voting! As I observe the poll, you will see the story progressively change to fit who is in the lead.**_


	7. Chapter 7

**Welcome back to the next episode of… this damn story? It works better with the voice, but that got taken away as part of a settlement over what happened with the rubber bands and the hot dog…. I better cut that off there.**

 **Anyway! Little birdie reminded me that I messed up just a teeny tiny smidgen with I posted my Ultimate Ninja Storm of Information Recap Extravaganza… I tore that down about an hour after I get that warning (thanks buddy for the heads up!). Now we're here with more content, which I am sure that all of you are excited about. Oh man, those screams of "shut up and just post it already" and "this guy is not funny at all, dear god" are music to my ears!**

 **Nothing for the Konoha Chronicles this chapter, but boy are things about to get exciting there… or are they? Big things happen this chapter though, so look forward to information overload my lovely senpais!**

 **Special disclaimer my lovelies: All things in this story are not mine, save for the witty dialogue and kick ass story tangents! There is a little song in here which is based on a real song, all credit goes to the original, I'm just an idiot who can change a few words to make it fit with my story~**

 **"Big mother truckers talkin, dur!"**

* * *

"So, Naruto, you gonna fill me in on how you were able to ride on the back of Quezacotl?"

Naruto opened a single eye to peek over at Zell, only to find his tattooed face about an inch away. It took every ounce of willpower not to leap back like a clumsy idiot. Looking around slowly like Kakashi used to while eyeing the old team, he saw the expectant looks on Selphie's, Seifer's and Leon's faces. Even Quistis and Xu, who for all intents and purposes were supposed to be talking about their scores and grades, were looking at him with curious glances out of the corners of their eyes. The whole thing reminded him of the day he came in second place during a sparing tournament back in the Konoha academy. Heaving a heavy sigh, he figured keeping the secret was pointless if he wanted to keep any of them from being suspicious, nosy bastards.

"I am capable of summoning GFs in their full forms." Naruto said simply while closing his eye again.

Silence invaded upon the interior of the small transport ship before Selphie stood up and huffed while stomping her foot, "What the hell? How is that even possible? And why did you summon one earlier?"

Zell was the second to speak, though with less attitude, "How come you didn't say anything sooner bro? That's pretty cool, ya know? Have you been training that or something?"

"I was told that my natural magical essence is much larger and denser than most people, and because of that I am somehow able to infuse more magic into my bonds with GFs. I've been training in the forest outside of the Garden for privacy to avoid causing a commotion. I haven't had any time with Ifrit, but I have been putting in a lot of time with Shiva and Raikiri. They can fight by my side for as long as I have enough essence to give them." Naruto explained as if showing someone how to start a car.

Leon actually found his voice and chimed in with a hint of arrogance in his voice, "Impossible. You can't actively infuse magic in a GF after they have been summoned."

"And you would know that, wouldn't you pretty boy? Can't fucking stand the idea someone is better at something than you?" Seifer snapped, and everyone was shocked that he had come to Naruto's defense.

"That isn't what I am implying. There has been extensive research done in this field by both Galbadia and Esther. Even sorceresses could not actively infuse raw magic into GFs, even if their summoning was considered the most powerful on record. The idea that a teenager who has had next to no time to research GFs could do such a thing is… preposterous." Leon stated in such an as a matter of fact tone that everyone groaned.

Seifer sucked his teeth sharply before looking over at Naruto with a strange gaze. It was a scowl; obviously, the boy rarely had an expression that didn't have some form of scowl to it. Underneath the underneath, Naruto could see admiration, and perhaps a little jealousy. The ninja could understand how someone of this world might be jealous of such a talent. It would be like someone of this world going to the Elemental Nations and knowing how to perform every technique known to man. Seifer gave him an almost unseen nod before the two broke eye contact.

"Regardless of the odds, the proof was in the pudding I suppose. Three squads of SeeD Agents witnessed my little show, and Raikiri isn't exactly a subtle being to begin with. I am sure most of you saw the dazzling light show before my arrival in the distance… actually scratch that, you were busy with a bad case of crabs." Naruto ended with a chuckle.

Selphie look about ready to slam his head through the wall, but she instead opted to grab her friend in a tight embrace, head buried into his shoulder snugly, "Don't scare me like that again. I thought you were going to… going to fall to your death after that wind kicked you off the edge. I haven't been scared like that before in my life."

"Hey now, have a little faith in me. After all the times in the past few weeks that you've had to physically remind me to stop being a pervert, you should know how hard it is for me to go down." Naruto added a little innuendo to try and get her spirit going again, bring back her bright attitude.

What he got was a small fist gently landing on his shoulder, before her body quaked with restrained sobs. Naruto then realized that this was probably her first time in a combat situation. Had she had her first human kill? He didn't know, but it was possible. Nothing prepared you for the death in the field… and the worst kind was watching the death of a friend. She had almost seen him die, but the emotions had been real even if his death had been stopped. So, he let her cry to her heart's content. Zell watched on, and the gravity of everything that had happened back in Dollet seemed to slam down on him at once. He heaved once, choked back whatever had been threatening to come up, and then sat with his strong hands clenching at his seat.

Seifer seemed the least worse for wear, but his hands had not stopped shaking since the first man he killed in the street in Dollet. There was no way he would end up a mess like the little girl crying on Uzumaki, and he wasn't a wuss like Zell, but he wasn't a damn robot. He remembered the look on that soldier's face when the helmet rolled away. Those lifeless eyes stretched in horror. He could remember the crows feet that indicated age, the creases from years of laughter with friends and family back home… his mouth, opened in a silent scream that had suddenly ended as a sword plunged into his heart. Fuck that damn nameless bastard with his fearful face… just fuck him…

Leon looked around the room at the others and sighed softly in the way that only he could do when he thought people were being foolish. He had trained his mind for years to be sharp and uncaring, a tool to be used to his advantage on the battlefield. Death was nothing but another factor to add into strategies. Even his own death was nothing if not used to the advantage of his team's success. He looked down at the black gloves on his hands, and balled up his fists. The sound of the leather tightening and stretching was a soothing sound over the quiet sobs of the girl nearby. Then, he heard someone humming a tune, and his eyes followed the sound to Naruto who was leaning his head back and smiling softly, his hands rubbing at Selphie's shoulders gently.

 _Hey, here's a little song I heard,_

 _You might want to learn every word._

 _Don't worry, be happy._

 _Every fight we face can lead to trouble,_

 _But when we worry we make it double._

 _Don't worry, be happy… don't worry be happy now._

 _When everything is done and said,_

 _Just come on home and rest your head,_

 _Don't worry, be happy._

 _Don't stop and make them wait,_

 _Your friends would hate it if you're late,_

 _Don't worry, be happy._

 _I'll act tough and work my guile,_

 _Until I get to see you smile,_

 _Don't worry, be happy._

 _I'll act a fool and be a clown,_

 _Whenever I see you wear that frown,_

 _Don't worry, be happy._

 _So smile, please smile, I beg of you,_

 _That way I can relax and then I'll smile too._

Naruto hummed the last few notes of the song and then relaxed. Zell who was sitting right beside him was wearing a goofy grin like a kid, and rubbing his nose a little. He was just a big kid sometimes, but that was one of the truly admirable things about the big guy. Seifer was trying his damn best to make it look like he had ignored the whole thing, but if it was possible, his scowl might have actually lessened. Leon had heard the entire song and oddly it had soothed him. It wasn't a particularly good song or anything, well maybe it was, but what did music matter to a warrior? Quistis was standing by Xu near the monitor at the head of the room quite shocked by the unexpected little musical performance. Being surrounded by people training to fight on a daily basis, one never considered the performing arts very often. She thought his voice was beautiful and had the tune that a father would use when singing to their child after a nightmare. Xu had been observing the effect he had on the others in the boat and couldn't help a smile breaking her strict professionalism for just a moment.

The softest voice anyone had heard was muffled by the uniform jacket on Naruto's shoulder, "Naruto…"

"Yes, Selphie-chan?" Naruto replied while looking down at her curly hair.

The girl looked up with dazzling green eyes that sparkled with delight and the stray tears that hadn't been blinked away yet, "You have to sing in my show!"

While everyone else in the cabin nearly fell over Naruto just laughed heartily before messing her hair with his hand which earned him a swat, "For you Selphie-chan, anything. Just don't be mad when everyone boos me off the stage with rotten tomatoes. Ugh… tomatoes…"

"They won't because it will be the performance of a lifetime! Also, don't think that this conversation about your GF ability is over mister, just because I had a small breakdown…" Selphie got timid at the last moment and poked her index fingers together.

"Don't worry guys; I will be sure to tell everyone soon. First, let's all just relax until we find out all the SeeD records we broke during that whole fiasco." Naruto said which got him two solid cheers from Selphie and Zell, and a small smirk from Seifer.

"All right you four, we are about to disembark. The car will be parked and ready to take you all back to the Garden nearby." Quistis announced while looking around the room, three of them responded with nods. Seifer just scoffed as normal, and Naruto seemed to simply ignore it in favor of securing his things for the trip back to the Garden, 'I wonder if he is still upset… of course he is you idiot, you did slap his face so hard it left a mark.'

* * *

When the boat docked the team disembarked and stood regaining their land-legs. Fujin and Raijin stood waiting to the side for their leader who was too eager to be back among his friends. Zell and Selphie stood speaking briefly with Quistis and Xu who were on standby until the students were all out of Balamb. Leon was leaning on one of the stainless steel posts that keep vehicles clear of the dock. Naruto looked around before joining Seifer with his buddies.

"Yo, good to see you two alive without the big man around to keep you out of trouble." Naruto grinned at Raijin and Fujin.

Raijin was the first to reply with his fist outstretched, "Little Gold, haven't seen you since you dyed all the SeeD uniforms bright green a week ago. Just long enough for the search to officially be called off, such a coincidence."

Naruto bumped fists with the big fella while grinning, "I don't even know what you are talking about, but I did miss you guys. Not as much as leader man here though. God he hated having to tag along with us. But, it was still fun I think."

Fujin crossed her arms while turning her head to the side, "TROUBLESOME BLONDE!"

"That's no way to speak about your leader while he is standing right her, my god, what has gotten into you lately young lady?" Naruto hugged onto Seifer's left arm dramatically while speaking in gasps and whines like a sick mother hen.

Seifer shoved him off and groaned while Fujin looked absolutely livid while blushing, "NEVER!"

Raijin threw his head back while barking in laughter, hands on his hips while his body bent back to withstand the tremendous laughing fit he was enduring. Fujin was having none of this shit and kicked the man so hard in his calf that Naruto visibly flinched. Even Seifer had to look away while Raijin hopped around holding his severely aching leg. When he had finished his hooting and screaming he was crouched down to the side with his hands on his calf, a cloud of depression surrounding him while he muttered something about evil best friends.

Fujin stood at attention before her leader, "REPORT?"

"Aced this thing, obviously. These tests are a breeze, trust me. Come on you two, let's ditch those losers. Uzumaki, I am sure you'll enjoy making them sprint their way back, knowing your horrendous training methods." Seifer turned to look at his fellow blonde with a hint of a smirk.

Naruto returned the smirk with a smile of his own, "You know me so well, and yet we never talk much. Wouldn't have it any other way. Also, keep an eye on the Training Center in the coming weeks; I think something strange is going to happen to the Garden Faculty in charge of repairing the terrain."

Seifer audibly groaned, but when he did he let his amusement show by accident. Naruto decided to let that go and watched his kind of-sort of-friend walk off with his posse. The three got into the transport, and then the car sped off recklessly, as cars driven by teenagers are wont to do. Zell heard the screeching tires and cursed loudly while running part way down the road. Selphie could be heard sighing and muttering about stolen cars and bastards. Leon had been the only one to witness the exchange and kept it to himself, wondering what it was all about. Naruto grinned and put his hand into his tool pouch to unseal some of his spare sets of weights. Hearing that all too familiar clink, Zell flinched and turned his head mechanically around like an owl.

"N-Naruto… why… why do you have those?" He asked cautiously.

Naruto held up twelve sets of weights and just smiled a very deceptively innocent smile, "We're home, my dear friend, and that means we must resume training. It would be a shame not to include our new friends… don't you think?"

* * *

 **Two hours later…**

* * *

"That's it you guys, keep up the pace! Count in your head, one, two, one, two! If you stop moving it only gets tougher to start up again!" Naruto cried from the side of the paved road that connected the city of Balamb to the Garden.

Zell, Leon, and Selphie were following behind him as he jogged backward. He was bouncing around like a boxer training his foot work. His own weights were strapped onto the outside of his clothes on his upper arms and calves. Zell was at the front of the little group behind him and his weights that he always wore were still under his clothes. Behind him was Leon who had the most incredulous look on his face as he silently wondered why he had agreed to this. At the rear was Selphie… probably the most irate and upset Selphie that anyone had ever seen. Both she and Leon were wearing their weights over their uniforms.

"Why did you need to increase my weight…? I thought we were waiting a few weeks…" Zell groaned as each step took more effort than he had ever needed for any movement ever before.

Naruto smiled as he threw punches and kicks to really work up a sweat with his training, "Because Zell, I saw your performance in Dollet and you are well beyond those previous settings. Plus, I didn't want the others to feel like I was being mean to them."

"Hah! You are the meanest boy I have ever met, Naruto Uzumaki! These damn things are… heavier than a full powered Demi spell for crying out loud!" Selphie hollered from her place at the back.

Naruto grinned and jogged back to be by her side, "My lovely little caboose, I promise that this training will do wonders for your agility and evasion. So stop belly aching and get those buns moving!"

Naruto dodged a stray fire spell, or three dozen, while expertly performing flips and rolls across the grassy field nearby. Whenever his foot touched the ground it would crack and crater under his weight, which caused Leon to double take. That kind of weight was ridiculous to fathom being on the human body! His own weights were so heavy that he could barely move, but his feet didn't damage the ground as he moved. What the fuck was Naruto?!

By the time the team had returned to the front gates of Balamb Garden, only Naruto was still on his feet. Selphie was crawling on her hands and knees trying to get her hands on the annoying blonde, Zell was heaving while clutching the metal bars of the gate, and Leon was lying on his back on the hot sidewalk. Naruto surveyed the group with a broad smile before he went to each one and removed their weights. Selphie was aware enough to watch him release the weight with a burst of magic, and her curiosity outweighed her desire to roast the bastard alive.

"What kind of magic is that? How do you… change the aspects of solid matter like that?" She asked while taking a seat on her butt with her hands fixing her skirt to avoid any peep shows.

Naruto waved the weights around in his hand, "What this? This isn't very complicated really. A lot of people back home used them. You focus your raw magic into your hand, and then put some into this little mark here to increase the weight. The more magic you put in, the heavier they get. The other one creates a bubble of resistance to simulate being submerged in water, but that is some advanced shit right there that I can't even begin to explain. I just know how to draw the marks really well."

"Where exactly do you come from…?" Leon asked from the side, eyeing him with narrowed eyes.

Naruto rubbed his chin, "Err… can't quite remember, sorry. Far as I know, I was born and raised on the side of the road where they found me, but that is some unlikely shit right there. Maybe I am from some place no one has been, and I got dumped on the road by someone who didn't like me. Considering how easily I piss people off, that seems likely.

Leon let his face drop and sighed, "I hate everything about what you just said…"

"Ah, so you finally downloaded the GPP software from fourtytwo dot com. I'll take hate to indifference any day. Now, if you three are done whining, let's go get our test results. I am betting they are just finishing up tallying the numbers. I hope I advance to the next round so I can keep dancing!" Naruto jogged off into the Garden without even removing his own weights.

Leon stared at the blonde bastard with his eye twitching violently, "I feel like he just fucked with me three or four different ways to avoid my questions…"

Zell stretched his aching legs and rubbed his arms where the weights had been before Naruto took them off moments ago. He was glad to be free of the training gear for a while. He had told Naruto that if they had passed there would be a huge party, so the weights would mess up his flow. Being the awesome guy that Naruto is, he took the weights off so his bro could relax for the night. He promised they would be back on and heavier the next morning. That wasn't a pleasant thought at all…

"I'm not as smart as you and even I could tell he was dodging you by acting like an idiot."

Selphie decided to avoid the whole thing and stood up on wobbly jelly legs, "Whatever, I will kick his meanie butt later. Let's get back before we get in trouble."

The three nodded and quickly made their way inside, though they limped the entire way.

* * *

Naruto cheered as he won the third card game in a row against some of the Card Club members waiting in the second floor hall. His ungodly luck at all things gambling seemed to have transferred over to this world and he was glad for it. Oh, he never kept any cards that he won, always telling his opponents that the fun came from the thrill of playing, not the chance to take the cards that people love from them. It wasn't a philosophy that was likely to spread far, but the Card Club members were pretty pleased to not have their decks ravaged by his savage play style.

Naruto was quite likely the only student who was completely at ease in the hall way. He took stock of all the cadets in the hall, and was slightly saddened to see some of them missing. So was the hell of war… to lose the friendly faces of comrades when they were taken by death's sweet embrace. Wherever they were, he hoped they got to avoid meeting that damn Shinigami. Some of the younger students were waiting with their favorite upperclassmen to support them, and Naruto pictured them as little siblings looking up to their strong and brave older brothers and sisters. He wished he could see that little bastard he left behind again, see how he and his little friends had grown. Just another thing taken from him by fate, but he would have to move on at some point. He was allowed to hold on a little longer… right?

Zell, Selphie, Leon and Seifer were all standing away from one another in their own little worlds. Naruto had never seen Zell so quiet and reserved. Usually he would be putting fresh dents in the wall while boxing his shadow. Leon was tense like a stretched rubber band, but only a trained eye could see it. Selphie was busying herself with trying to convince several students to sign up for her little event she was planning, but everyone could tell it was just to keep her mind occupied, so for once, people just let her talk. Suddenly everything went perfectly still and silence fell. The elevator that had been silent and sleeping up until then hummed to life.

Everyone could hear the mechanism coming down slowly, slower than usual it seemed. The doors took forever to open when the elevator stopped on their floor. Everyone, save Naruto, held in a breath in anticipation. The stoic face of a Garden Faculty member came into view before he walked slowly across the bridge toward the mass of students. When he stopped his shadowed eyes scanned the area. After clearing his throat, he brought up a clip board and spoke slowly,

"The following students are to report to Headmaster Cid's office immediately."

Everyone began to sweat as the tension thickened enough to be scooped with a serving spoon.

"Tilmitt, Selphie."

Selphie nearly jumped out of pure shock, but she regained her composure and took that long walk down the hall and across the bridge to wait in the open elevator.

"Dincht, Zell."

Zell let loose a holler that echoed in the hall as he jogged merrily by the crowd flashing a victory sign at everyone. He exchanged a fist bump with Naruto before heading down to join Selphie who was smiling weakly due to the stress that she had been under slowly releasing.

"Leonhart, Squall."

Leon pushed away from the wall he had been leaning on and casually walked to the elevator with his hands in his pockets.

"Lastly… Uzumaki, Naruto."

Naruto tilted his head and then glanced at Seifer who was in the corner with his arms crossed, his face scowling and his eyes shut tight. Raijin and Fujin offered Naruto nods of acknowledgment before turning to their unhappy leader. Naruto stood up and dusted off his uniform trousers before heading to join the others on the elevator. Naruto gave Zell a grin to hide his conflicted inner feelings. Something felt… wrong.

When the team got up top, the office was as Naruto had remembered it, but it felt brighter and cheerier. The room was lined with several veteran SeeD Agents all dolled up in their finest uniforms, and each bearing bright smiles for their newest Agents. Naruto gave each of them a two fingered salute except for Quistis who he noticed was among them. It wasn't that he didn't respect her anymore, because he did. He just wasn't quite ready to trust her the way he had before that conversation they had in the Infirmary. Whether she noticed his lack of attention or not was irrelevant as he focused his attention on the old man. Cid was beaming down at the five of them, Naruto and company plus a faceless dark haired young man that had been a member of another team that had been seen to before they arrived.

"You five represent the best of what Garden can offer. Balamb, Galbadia, and Trabia Gardens stand to provide strength to those without, support to those in need, and peace to the restless. I am so proud of what I saw from each of you today, and your fellow SeeD Agents have nothing but praise for your dedication to duty, skill, and potential. I am honored and humbled to be able to give each of you a place among our finest, and I am also honored to represent my colleague in Trabia as well for you Miss Tilmitt. They wanted me to convey their appreciation for your representing their banner here at Balamb, and they eagerly await your return to properly congratulate you." Cid spoke with a pride that each of them could hear, and it made Naruto smile thinking of the old Kage and the effect the monkey man had on the people he watched over.

Cid walked over to each student to hand them a pin and their grading assessment. Each student also received a small bit of advice, but Naruto respected their privacy and cut off the flow of chakra to his ears. When Cid came to him, they exchanged knowing smiles with each other. Naruto took the offered items as well as Cid's hand to shake. When Cid leaned close, he whispered as he had done with the others.

"You are one surprising young man. Keep surprising us all, and never let the darkness get to you. You bring a light to others that must never be snuffed out."

Naruto knew he would be considering those words later on, but for now he gave a firm nod and watched the man walk back to his original position.

"Now, my new SeeD Agents today is the last day that you will be considered mere cadets. Starting tomorrow you will be going out into the world to represent the Garden system. These missions are about more than fighting bad people; stealing important papers, sabotaging corrupt governments… you must always be careful and cautious. Read each book presented to you before letting the cover beguile you. You must trust each other, because when you leave this place you are on your own. SeeD is a family first, mercenaries second. Always remember that, and don't be afraid to ask for help.

Tonight there will be a ceremonial dinner and dance party to celebrate our newest Agents. That is actually a cover. Dignitaries from all over the world will be coming here to see you, watch you, remember your faces and get any kind of information they can on you. Today you could be their best friend, and tomorrow you could be a hired assassin for their enemy. Use every skill that you have learned here to watch your backs, and for the love of God do not drink from any glass that you have set down for longer than three seconds."

Naruto was the only one to laugh at Cid's wording. He got a few strange looks, but he didn't care much about what they were thinking. For him that last bit was almost like a joke. He had learned early on not to eat or drink anything offered to him by anyone not paid to provide him with quality goods. He still swore on pre-packaged foods for their guaranteed safety. Cid found his laugh contagious and gave a hearty laugh of his own. Most everyone thought the two were mentally wrong.

"Now, run along and enjoy the rest of the day. In a few hours, you'll be rubbing elbows with the rich, the famous, and the pompous. Go on then!"

* * *

Naruto was sitting quietly in his room on his bed, staring down at his hands. Now that he was away from prying eyes and in the safe privacy of his locked room, he was able to let his guard down and finally be the vulnerable young man that he was inside. His hands were trembling as the stress of having to fight in an active battlefield set in. Clenching his fists, he grit his teeth and tried to steady himself. This wasn't his first rodeo, damn it. He had killed before plenty of times. Bandits, rapists, slavers, missing ninja… it wasn't the same though. This time, there really wasn't a good or bad guy.

Right after being named SeeD he read the assessment on his way to the dorms. He had scored relatively well with a SeeD ranking of fifteen. He had laughed when he noticed a point deduction for leaping off of a dangerously high ledge. When he read the debriefing papers, he discovered that the supposed bad guys were willing to retreat without taking control of the city, settling for an agreement to keep the newly reactivated Comms Tower up and running with routine maintenance. The report on casualties was unsettling to say the least, with heavy casualties on the Dollet army, and only minimal losses for the Garden. There were no reports on Galbadian numbers, but he was willing to bet that there were heavy losses there too, considering the clean sweep SeeD performed on the city upon arrival.

All that lost life had taken a toll on Naruto's psyche. He was a trained warrior, assassin, killer… but this was like mass murder on a level he wasn't prepared for. It was then that he knew the true meaning to the old phrase, "war is hell."

Knowing that he would not be able to concentrate on anything else, Naruto decided to visit the Mindscape to escape his idle thoughts of the battle. It took longer than he would have liked because he had a hard time clearing his thoughts. Once he did, he felt the familiar tug on his mind, and let the rush take him. Falling into darkness, he stopped after only a moment and felt solid ground beneath him. When he opened his eyes, he was expecting to see Shiva barreling towards him, but he did not. Instead, he saw no one but Kyu, the old fox sitting up as if waiting for him, rather than lounging around lazily like he usually did. Something was off.

" **Naruto-kun, I am glad that you made it here so soon. I was able to sense your distress… are you all right?"**

Naruto stood up and then walked over to the grassy platform where his large fox brother sat waiting for him. It was odd taking that step onto the grass from the odd steel floor of the primary chamber. A rush of warm air that smelled of freshly cut grass washed over him. He closed his eyes to bask in it… it reminded him of home, back in the Land of Fire. It had always been the perfect temperature, and he would often sneak through the village to find a vacant park to spend hours filling his lungs to their limit with the scent of it. With all the stress on his mind, and now the sudden trip down memory lane, Naruto couldn't stop a stray tear from slipping down his cheek. He wiped it away and then rubbed his nose to cover his sniffles as he plastered a faux smile on his face.

"Hey Kyu, it's been a while since you got off your lazy belly, fluffy ass." Naruto joked.

Kyu grinned and then pawed the ground, " **Get your ass over here you disrespectful brat before I decide to give you a new scar."**

Naruto walked over to him and then hugged his large front leg tightly. The soft fur was very warm, something that he really enjoyed as he grew up. It had taken a while for Kyu to allow him to hug him, but after that it had been a non issue. The big guy was a stubborn fox, but he was a good Todd deep down, and he valued family just as much as the Uzumaki kit that he had taken under his wing all those years ago.

"Was everyone disappointed in my SeeD rank score or something? Hard to believe no one is around." Naruto asked while sitting on top of the large paw of his brother and leaning back against the leg.

Kyu chuckled as he closed his eyes, **"You always were a damn idiot. No, they weren't disappointed in your score. As soon as Raikiri-san returned the four of them retreated into the small ice house on Shiva's ice field. I have heard nothing from them, and I have not interfered because it is not my place. The new one you found, the female they called Siren, was very weak when she arrived. What I gathered, she had been feeding that creature you defeated magical energy for a very long time. Do not fear, she will recover, but they are her family in many ways and as such are prone to worry over nothing more often than not."**

"I understand... I would do the same for you Kyu. Don't know what I would do if you went missing." Naruto chuckled as he rubbed his nose again.

Kyu scoffed, **"You would do the dumbest thing you could think of, which would result in either you almost dying, or the entire planet shattering. Then, after finding me, you would immediately say something disrespectful, and I would threaten to eat you. Standard procedure, brat."**

Naruto laughed heartily at that because he knew damn well it was true. He always went overboard when trying to protect his loved ones. Kyu meant the world to him, and he would certainly sacrifice the entire world to get him back if he ever lost the big fluff ball. His loud laughter must have drawn attention, because soon the small door on the igloo that was built on Shiva's platform opened with a bang, and said queen of all things frosty shot out like a rocket. Naruto only briefly noticed his brother use a replacement technique, which was something he had no idea the fox could do, so switch placed with a log that Naruto ended up sitting on. A moment later, he was barreled over and rolled several times head over heels until stopping on his back.

" **Naruto!"** Shiva cried as she straddled him and grabbed his face in her hands.

While she was searching him for wounds or oddities, he spoke through squished cheeks, "Thiva, thith ith wery ainful…"

Shiva blinked before gasping and releasing her cold grip on his cheeks, she watched him work his jaw and pat his cheeks of the ice that had started to form, **"I'm sorry, I was just so worried about you! Brother Kyu warned us that he was sensing your stress, but we had to see to sister Siren as soon as possible. I'm so happy you're safe."**

Shiva let her delicate hand brush some of his hair back into place after it had frozen slightly from her uncontrolled aura. Naruto watched her gentle gestures and couldn't help blushing a bit. Hearing a snicker, he looked over to see Kyu eyeing him with wiggling eyebrows. Naruto narrowed his eyes at the big fox and was about ready to flip him the bird, but he 'oofed' and began to struggle against the sudden hug he was pulled into. Shiva had his head in her arms holding it tight to her chest as she cried anime tears.

" **Please don't be so reckless again, brother Raikiri told me how close you were to falling to your death back in Dollet! I don't want to lose you!"**

Naruto stopped struggling and tapped her shoulder gently. When she looked down, he gestured to be given some air. She blushed as her frozen tear streaks shattered into dust in the air. Letting him only slightly loose so he could move, he turned his head up and took in a large breath of air. He was aware of the location of his face, but decided against pointing this out for fear of what might happen when he thought about how Selphie often tried to damage him for behaving badly. Instead he kept his eyes shut and spoke softly, "Don't worry, Shiva-hime, I won't do anything stupid like that again, I promise. And I never go back on my promises."

Shiva, having remembered his conversation on honorifics with the blonde bitch who struck him, took a moment to register what he had just said. Suddenly feeling much more bashful than normal, she released her hold on him and laughed sheepishly. Naruto used his hands to warm his neck and cheeks again before he heard Kyu chuckling to the side. He turned a threatening fist toward the fox, "You got something to say big boy?!"

Kyu gave him a very sly and foxy grin, **"So… its Shiva-hime now is it?"**

Naruto was on the fox in a flash and using his arms to pretend to strangle Kyu who was laughing heartily. In a solid move that would make a wrestler palm his face, Kyu just rolled over on his back to wiggle in the grass, effectively smothering the small human that had been straddling the back of his neck. As the two struggled playfully on the ground, Shiva watched from the side seated on her little personal storm cloud. Her face was a very deep blue, almost navy blue as she considered what Naruto had said. Thinking back, she remembered him saying that hime was often used as an affectionate term for a woman that you cared deeply for. What did that mean then? And why was she suddenly so self conscious?

" **Well, this is a sight to see as soon as we come out…"** Ifrit said with his booming voice and wearing a grin. He was standing not too far away from Kyu's platform with his large arms crossed.

Standing beside Ifrit was the familiar form of Raikiri, the thunder bird. He was much brighter than he used to be, a permanent change after the excitement of the battle over Dollet. He enjoyed the golden sheen he now possessed, but that thought was only an idle passing one due to the current situation. Seated comfortable on his back was the newest edition to their little family, the lovely Siren. Siren was very much like Shiva in that she took a very pleasing human shape, but the similarities ended there. Her body was accented with beautiful flowing gold and white feathers that protected her modesty. Her hair was a platinum blond with several very vibrant streaks of blue that flowed well down her back and sides to end near her lower thighs. Her face was perfectly rounded and if one were to be honest, she had a motherly beauty to her. The most startling feature she bore were two very large and elegant wings that grew out of her head. Normally they would proudly flow down and back like her hair, but at the moment they were wrapped around the golden neck of the majestic bird that bore her weight to support her in her time of need.

Naruto and Kyu stopped their roughhousing as soon as they heard Ifrit speak, and Naruto immediately rose to his feet to rush to Raikiri's side. Without touching the fragile Guardian he observed her closely, trying to see if he could help in any way. Shiva noticed his intense stares and observations, and a small part of her actually warmed up, as if on fire… jealousy? Why would that be a thing?

" **She is desperately low on magical energy. We do not know if we possess enough to sustain her, and because her physical body has been gone for so long, it would take a great deal more than we possess to bring her back. If we could be in physical contact with her body, it would be a simple thing, but as we are only spiritual representations here within you, it would be quite a dangerous task. We could very well risk our own physical bodies. Only one Guardian would have the power to do such a thing, but she… she is not with us any longer."** Raikiri spoke solemnly while peering over his shoulder at the pale face of Siren.

Naruto watched Siren take small, unsteady breaths and nodded, "Then there is only one thing we can do. Ifrit, Shiva, Raikiri… meet me outside the Garden… at the beach to the south. Raikiri, leave her here with Kyu, he will keep her safe."

" **What do you plan to do, little human?"** Ifrit asked crossing his muscular arms and narrowing his demonic eyes.

Naruto grinned and just saluted the three large GFs before fading out. They watched silently for a moment before Ifrit grunted and shifted back and forth, **"I have a bad feeling."**

" **It's Naruto; of course you have a bad feeling. But… trust him; he wouldn't do anything to hurt Siren, that is not his way."** Kyu said reassuringly.

Shiva frowned a bit, **"Somehow, I don't feel like it is Siren that we need to be worried about…"**

Kyu said nothing, instead walking over to Raikiri and using his strong tails to gently remove Siren from the bird's back. He placed her in the warmest area of his platform and then lay down to her side. The others were not exactly comfortable with the arrangement, but they had to try to trust Kyu someday, so why not today? Each of them vanished from the Mindscape and were unaware of the worried look Kyu suddenly wore as he looked up at the darkness of the ceiling. Naruto was going to do something really idiotic again, he just knew it.

* * *

Zell Dincht was sitting in the Cafeteria enjoying a couple complimentary congratulatory spicy chili dogs that the kitchen staff had prepared specifically for him as a way of showing support for one of their favorite, albeit rowdy, diners. He had just downed the second dog before chugging down a bottle of vegetable juice when he heard a commotion nearby. Turning, he saw a bunch of other student gathering around the windows of the Cafeteria pointing up toward the sky. Curiosity got the best of him, so he jogged over to catch sight of what they were looking at. He nearly balked when he saw the familiar sight of Quezacotl flying at high speed across the sky. Judging by the direction of the sun, the bird was headed south.

Many of the students were voicing out loud the same thoughts running through his head. Quezacotl never left his perch on top of the mountains, ever. When the old Guardian had agreed to represent their particular Garden, he had made it abundantly clear that he would never venture out of reach, but he was also not to be disturbed because he needed to oversee the storms worldwide which took a great deal of focus from so far away. His leaving of his perch was something not to be ignored, and Zell got the sudden feeling that Naruto was involved.

No one had ever seen Zell leave without finishing his hot dogs before… and no one did today either, because a few seconds after he had gone, he came back huffing and snatched the last tasty dog off his tray.

* * *

Meanwhile, out in the Quad, Selphie Tilmitt was spending her afternoon before the ball to try and gather more support for her event that was swiftly coming up. She needed musicians and stage hands and even people to just dance on stage. It was getting pretty rough having all the students ignore her or find excuses to leave her standing with an irritated twitching brow. After her fifteenth failed attempt, she gave up for the afternoon and was working on a flyer. The flyer was meant to be a picture of her helpers all pointing toward the observer and winking, but her only supporter at the time was Naruto, so it was just a picture of his goofy face drawn crudely with crayons. Somehow, she had drawn his face more foxy than she had intended, even drawing his spiky hair in a way that perked up like a set of ears.

She became inspired by the sight of it, and furiously got to work on a proper picture using the same idea as her accident, but then her whole body suddenly got very cold. Several other students nearby complained of the same thing, before one cried out to look at the sky. Rubbing her shoulders through her uniform top, Selphie looked up with everyone else and her eyes widened considerably. There, as if nothing were out of the ordinary at all, was Shiva flying casually across the sky heading south from the mountains up north.

It was common knowledge that Shiva often visited the school, but only as a magical projection, and she was almost never seen. In fact, the only properly reported appearance had been this month by the captain of the Disciplinary Squad, Seifer Almasy. Judging by her size, and the strength of the chill in the air, this was her proper physical body. Snowflakes began drifting down as she disappeared from view over the high tower at the center of the Garden. One snowflake fell and landed on her prototype flyer, directly onto the heart of the crudely drawn Naruto, and Selphie had this odd feeling that she would want to kick his ass for something dumb…

No one noticed her leaving the Quad, but everyone felt the killing intent in her wake, though none of them knew what the hell that feeling was.

* * *

Seifer Almasy and Squall Leonhart were resting after another of their infamous spars. The pair of swordsmen had wandered off after the SeeD results had been released to have one final duel. It had gone as many of their previous duels had, except this time they took each other seriously, not pulling any punches or allowing their ego to get in the way. Leon would never admit this to anyone, but this had been one of the most… fun experiences he had ever shared with anyone. The battle had ended in a draw, which was fitting really. Leon and Seifer both begrudgingly accepted the draw, and actually shook hands after.

Seifer had chosen a particularly rocky area near the Fire Cavern on the island of Balamb for this duel. He didn't want the ridiculous students back at the school gawking at them. He also didn't want any of the SeeD there to make a fuss about their newest Agent being damaged the day before he takes on active duty. Seifer had no intentions of harming Leon in any way. The guy had earned his position fair and square, and that was that. If he was angry with anyone, it would be the SeeD observing the exam, but he would have no idea who was in charge of overseeing his actions. According to his assessment, he had been deemed unfit to lead and a danger to his superiors if he were to follow. His tendency to act on his emotions had lost him a lot of points. It wasn't his fault he was so passionate about his dream…

The two were startled by a sudden quaking under their feet. It was like the ground itself were about to shatter, and then the Fire Cavern erupted in a small show of spraying lava and heated rock. Out of the flaming debris crawled the beast Ifrit, his body now accented in armor that the two of them had never seen before. As if going for a summer stroll, the monster of a GF leapt off the top of the steep mesa like top of the caverns and down to the ground. He was headed toward the beach, and when the pair looked at the white sandy shore, they were alarmed to see two other massive beings they were all too familiar with.

"The fuck… is going on down there…?" Seifer sounded very worried, and Leon couldn't disagree with his discomfort.

"We should probably head down there and investigate. If the Garden is in danger, it is our responsibility to at least get them a warning." Leon said strapping his blade to his belt.

"I'm no SeeD, Leonhart…" Seifer grumbled while clenching his fists.

Leon didn't look at him while he stared off at the beach, "No, not a SeeD, but a brave fighter nonetheless. You're telling me now that you aren't a SeeD, that you don't want to protect the weak?"

Seifer scowled at his rival hotly, but then it simmered down and he glared at the ground. A few moments of silence passed between them before Seifer grabbed his sword and braced it over his shoulder casually, "Look who got wise all of a sudden. Lead on, oh glorious SeeD. I got your back."

Nothing else needed to be said between them before the pair rushed off toward the beach and whatever the hell was about to go down.

* * *

The salty sea breeze was refreshing in his lungs as Naruto stared out at the crystal clear water. The way it turned to dark blue and eventually blended with the sky was a sight that brought warmth to his heart, but he didn't know why. Perhaps in a past life he had spent days at sea, or maybe he had lived on an island with fruit trees and lots of happy natives. Whatever it was, he was glad for the calming effect it had on him, because he was a little worried about his crazy plan that he had. He had no idea if this crap would even work, but he had to give it a try, right? His life was devoted to helping others, and right now a very pretty GF was dying slowly due to the effects of being forcefully shoved inside some ancient monster.

The blonde turned to see three towering figures standing around him. Shiva, as lovely as ever, was in the form he had first seen her. He tried his best to keep his eyes on her face considering her default form was a practically naked giant woman. He didn't remember her being this big in Limbo, but then he figured that the rules of physics probably didn't matter there. Ifrit had taken on his battle form, his towering muscles each larger than Naruto's entire body. The armor he wore gleamed in the sunlight above, drawing Naruto's attention due to the glare. Raikiri was the last to arrive, living the furthest away and having a slower flight speed than Shiva. He was glowing fiercely, ready for whatever purpose he was required in order to save Siren.

"Well, I can see you three are ready." Naruto pointed out the obvious.

None of the GFs pointed this out, considering they knew he was particularly worried. Shiva was the first to respond after a moment of silence, **"Naruto-kun… if you think this is dangerous, we will understand if you don't want to continue. It is enough that you are concerned enough to consider… well, we just don't want you to risk your well being."**

" **Aye, sister Shiva is right. I haven't known you as long as these two, but you're a brave little bastard, and I like you. Don't go dying trying something reckless."** Ifrit grunted and nodded his affirmation toward Shiva's statement.

"Thank you, all of you, but I was brought here for something… to do something to help. Something tells me that this is it. I have reason to believe that… I am involved in some way… like I have a responsibility to help Siren, because a part of me is at fault for her condition. Don't ask how… it is just a feeling deep in my gut. I am prepared to do what it takes to make this right." Naruto spoke with conviction and finality as he took several steps toward the center of their gathering, "If this crazy shit goes down properly, then I want you three to be ready to pump non-elemental energy into Siren as soon as she appears."

" **You think to summon forth a physical body? Are you out of your mind?! No, I will not allow it!"** Shiva cried out in mixed anger and anxiety.

Raikiri looked at Shiva with his expressionless eyes and somehow he was able to project his feelings of anger, **"Sister, as much as I agree with you, this is not our choice. We have never spoken out against a summoner in all our time on this world. To do so is the highest form of disrespect, no matter the intentions. If he wishes to try, we must be ready to aid him in any way possible!"**

" **Perhaps not you two, but I have always been disagreeable. Still… the fire in his eyes and the determination I feel in him inspires me to trust him. Shiva, it would be wise to simply support his wishes for now."** Ifrit spoke with a low grumble to his voice, not really enjoying the sudden argument brewing and hoping to quell it.

Shiva clenched her fists and cold winds whipped around the area. She said nothing to either of them for several moments, and then she calmed down and let the winds die down, **"Fine… I will do whatever I can to help, but I still think that this is the dumbest thing anyone has ever done."**

"Now you're finally starting to get to know me, Uzumaki Naruto!" Naruto suddenly shouted while pounding his chest, "Nothing I ever do is smart, but my luck is God damn good, and I'm feeling pretty lucky today!"

Naruto got into a wide stance and braced his feet in the sand for support. Gathering his magic together he focused on the image of Siren in his Mindscape. The blonde then bit down on his thumb to draw a proper flow of blood, shocking the three Guardians watching him. Then he started to perform hand seals that he had not used in some time.

 _Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, Ram…_

Naruto focused his magic even more intensely as he felt it react to his hand seals unlike the previous techniques he had attempted, and then the words he knew he had to speak were replaced. Opening his eyes to reveal them glowing a brilliant bright cerulean blue he called out in a firm voice, "Mage Art: Summoning Circle!"

Naruto slammed his palm down onto the sand and the dust began to fly around him in a vortex of raw magic. A circle of runes that Naruto had never seen before spread out in front of him. The runes glassed over the sand to create a smooth flat surface for the ritual. A moment later, a spectral essence of pure magic erupted out of his stomach where his old seal had once been and formed into the body of Siren, curled in the fetal position and looking very frail. Soon enough the shape solidified, and Siren took in a sharp breath that startled all three of the great Guardians. Raikiri was the first to recover.

" **Now you fools, before the ritual circle is broken!"** Raikiri yelled before he sent a beam of pure, non elemental magic directly into Siren. As they had hoped, it was absorbed instantly and even strengthened the ritual circle that Naruto had created.

Shiva and Ifrit soon followed Raikiri's example and sent out magical energy into the body of Siren. As time passed, Siren grew in size and regained her proper color, but Naruto was growing pale and looking weaker. His own magical pool, while much larger than the average human, was not godly. He could feel his strength waning, but he kept the power flowing into the technique the best he could. He could hear Kyu reassuring him through the mental link, but the words were garbled and warped in his exhaustion.

While this grand spectacle was going on, four sets of eyes were staring unblinking at what could quite literally be the most amazing thing to ever happen. Selphie, Zell, Seifer and Leon stood stock still while watching their friend perform what looked to be a very complex form of magic that none of them were familiar with, not even Selphie. Suddenly they all had to cover their eyes as a bright light filled the area. Once they could look, they saw the ritual circle had broken, and the body that had once lay on the ground was floating up towards a beam of light that shone down from the sky. An elegant harp floated down from that bright heavenly light, and when the two met, another flash nearly blinded them all. When it was safe to look, not a one of them could speak or think.

Siren floated in the air with a serene and gentle smile, her azure harp decorated with feather-like carvings into the smooth instrument that seemed to be made of polished stone was grasped in her delicate hands. When she hovered merely a foot off the ground, she opened her sky blue eyes to look at those around her, even taking a moment to look at the four humans observing the scent. When her eyes fell on Naruto, she smiled even warmer down at his sleeping form. She was vaguely aware that he had a hand in her rebirth, and for that she would be eternally grateful.

Raikiri lifted off the ground with his mighty golden wings to float slowly over to Siren. When he was right beside her, she looked into his glowing blue eye markings and then lifted a hand to gently rub along his jaw, **"Hello, Quezacotl, I missed you."**

Raikiri melted into the familiar touch and loosed an uncharacteristic cooing sound that was common for birds. Had he a set of normal eyes, he would have closed them while resting his head in her palm, but then he wouldn't be able to keep his eyes on her to make sure she were real. He wouldn't allow his sense of time to get away from him again, not if it let him forget about her until it was too late.

" **Siren… can you ever forgive me for not being there when you needed me?"**

Siren merely giggled at him, **"That would require me to blame you for my fate. You could not have known what happened. You did not aid in my imprisonment. But you did exhaust nearly all of your energy to break me free. And you did this while battling against the very beast who nearly stole my life. I cannot thank you enough for your part in rescuing me, my dear one."**

While two lovebirds were reunited, Shiva had taken on her lesser form to rush to Naruto's side. The knucklehead had fallen over backward from the blast of the shattered ritual circle, so Shiva gently moved his head into her lap as she sat in the sand. She could feel his magical energy was low, but it wasn't draining anymore, in fact it was slowly regenerating at a rate that made no sense. If course it didn't make sense, this was Naruto after all. The thought made her giggle, which must have been loud enough to catch his attention. His eyes opened slowly, blinking away the blurriness a few times before focusing on hers. They remained quiet for a while until she broke the silence,

" **I can't believe that actually worked… you dummy."** She playfully tapped his nose making him cringe to bite back a sneeze, which made her giggle again.

"I just tried to use an old technique from… back home. See, we could summon animals to our aid by offering blood and chakra as a sacrifice. We would summon their physical bodies, energy and all, and they would fight alongside us in battle or provide healing. I once saw a giant snake, a giant toad, and a giant slug all bigger than you in your full form brawling in a huge field." Naruto laughed a bit at her confused expression, clearly unfamiliar with such animals, "Anyway, I tried the same technique… but when I focused my chakra, I guess it is magic now, keep getting them confused… I focused it, and a whole different set of words came to my head. And then that summoning seal was totally off."

Shiva tilted her head to the side, **"Summoning seal? That was a ritual circle often used by sorceresses during blood magic rituals. Quite a shock to us when we saw you using it, since you couldn't possibly be a sorceress. It is something that is inherited through reincarnation and it is exclusive to the people of this world... we think. There hasn't been another sorceress since Adel passed on near the end of the Sorceress War though."**

Naruto was quite for a few minutes while he thought about several different things. Shiva took it upon herself to run her fingers through his hair, which to her delight was as soft as it appeared. He then looked up into her eyes and frowned, "There is something really fishy going on here… and my gut is telling me that the Shinigami knows exactly what is going on. I've been wracking my brain recently trying to figure out why she sent me here. Now, I have seen enough to get pretty damn suspicious."

" **You have a theory then? Will you tell me?"** Shiva asked while her hand ran across his cheek, chilling it and making him shiver a little, which she secretly found very amusing.

Naruto recovered quickly enough and shook his head, "No, not here, we have company."

The deity of winter looked around and saw the gathering of her summoner's friends and inwardly groaned. She had hoped to nurse him back to strength alone, but with those humans nearby it would bring up too many questions. She knew how her summoner wanted some secrets kept as close as possible, so she acted on those thoughts and merely helped the blonde to his feet. He gave her a grateful nod before waving to his friends. Shiva took her leave quickly, following behind and already retreating Siren and Raikiri. Ifrit was stalking off on all fours leaving a trail of fire in his path.

Selphie was the first to get to Naruto and she grabbed him in a fierce hug, "What the heck happened to you?! I can barely sense your magic essence, and yours is usually so big I can track you through the Garden when you aren't hiding it! Look at you, you can barely stand!"

"Take it easy Selphie-chan; I just had to do a little favor for the Guardians. It took more out of me than I had hoped." Naruto replied, rubbing her back in soothing circles.

Seifer and Leon were standing by the sheet of glass now setting in the sand and giving off massive amounts of essence fumes. Leon had never seen anything like it, even from a Firaga spell. Seifer used his boot to lift the glass up slightly, but none of the marks that had been there before were still there. He sucked his teeth, hoping to have something to corner Naruto with, but without any solid blackmail material it was a bust.

"The hell do you reckon that was, darky?" Seifer asked while kneeling by the glass sheet.

Leon scowled but made no comment about the name, "Don't know, most spells in the database don't have any symbols that go with them. I would say it was sorcery, but this guy is the last person I would suspect of such strong magic."

"What did I say about that know-it-all bullshit that you spit all the time? You think your books and databanks have all the answers, but you close your eyes to life and what you experience. You'll never grow up to be anything if you keep being a naïve little pipsqueak. Uzumaki. Isn't. Normal. Get used to that if you ever want to be successful on missions with him." Seifer said sagely while closing his eyes, the lines of his permanent scowl softening just a little.

"Yo, Naruto, bro, you have a lot of interaction with the Guardian Forces, you know? It's kind of freaky." Zell piped in from the rear of the peanut gallery.

Naruto limped over using Selphie as support on his right side. He smiled and rubbed the back of his head a bit, "What can I say? They must like having me as a pet."

A feral snickering filled his head and he knew a certain giant fox had heard his comment.

Zell rubbed his chin with his thumb as he rested his left hand on his hip, "Hmm, honestly it is kind of cool even if it is freaky. Never seen them last more than a few moments like they do when you summon them, and for them to actually come out of their homes to meet you in person was like, the most amazing thing ever. People are going to start bugging you for tips on how to get in good with the big guys."

Naruto walked up to Zell and pat his shoulder lightly, "Step number one, learn more about them."

With that he had Selphie help him back to the Garden leaving the three other boys to stare at their backs as they went. Zell was content with what he had heard, even if he didn't understand it. Seifer was in his own world thinking about the image of him riding into a massive battle on the back of a giant GF. The thought brought a rare smile to his face before he followed after the entourage headed back to Garden. Leon was left alone on the beach staring down at the sheet of glass. He wanted to know more about this… it was nagging at him that he felt so weak and clueless. Turning his back on the ocean, he walked off, and he missed when the glass suddenly shimmered and revealed the ritual circle burning into the ground as the glass turned to dust.

* * *

 _ **Next time: Paaaaaaaaaarrrrrrtyyyyyyyyyyy!**_

 _ **By the by, hope you liked the little musical number.**_

 _ **This Chapter's Question:**_

 _ **If, and I mean IF, a team is sent to seek out Naruto, who should be the team leader, Kakashi or Anko? And who would you recommend be on their team? All characters are available for this except Sakura and Sasuke for obvious reasons.**_


	8. Chapter 8

**So sorry for the weirdness. Will try not to let this happen again. Some errors were fixed during this whole thing. Again, sorry for the notifications and the deletions and reuploading and such. Hope to not have this happen again.**

 **Something came up in one of my reviews that got me digging and I found an interesting little tidbit! The reviewer was trying to help me out with my spelling, which as many of you are probably aware is ugly. Quezacotl, or Raikiri in this fiction, was originally named after an ancient god, of which I will not mention because I want you to fill your minds with the knowledge, so look it up! The interesting fact about this is that the name was shortened from the original due to limitations on the naming interface in the original version of Final Fantasy VIII. So, my beautiful senpais, now you know.**

 **And knowing is half the battle…**

 **This chapter features some fancy stuff, some funny stuff, and a whole lot of lovey stuff. Viewer discretion is not advised. Cuz like the legendary Garth Brooks says, Our lives are better left to chance, you could always miss the pain, but then you'd have to miss the dance.**

* * *

"There will always be a very large part of me that is jealous of you, Naruto Uzumaki. I have wanted to be a SeeD for a long time and failed multiple attempts. To be where you are would be nothing short of the greatest achievement of my life. That said… I am very glad to not be in that uniform right now."

Seifer Almasy was not a man you would expect to joke around. He hardly ever laughed, and when he did it was in a very condescending way. Sure, in private he knew a few zingers that would have people rolling, but he just wasn't the joking type. Now was a different story. He had been asked, rather reluctantly he would add, for assistance by his roommate, Uzumaki Naruto. What kind of assistance? The idiot had no idea how to properly put on his new SeeD uniform! The process of putting him together properly had been… utterly and completely hilarious. Seifer had been doing his absolute best to keep his composure, but this in no way kept Naruto from seeing how amused he was.

"You are the world's most perfect and undeniable ass." Naruto replied dryly while tugging at his collar.

Seifer had to stifle another laugh with a well timed and perfectly executed cough, "I am beginning to see why some men refer to such formal attire as monkey suits…"

Naruto's brow began to twitch as laughter that only he could hear rang through his mind, "Not funny, you son of a bitch."

"Never knew my mother, so you're probably right." Seifer shot back casually.

Naruto frowned, not expecting to hear that. It reminded him of his own childhood growing up without knowing much about his parents. It took a while for him to learn the truth, and even then he only knew of them, not who they were. He turned to admire himself in the mirror on his wall. The standing collared button down black tunic was trimmed in gold with maroon cuffs and held tight with a brown belt. His black slacks were straight and pressed to perfection with the kind of folds only the dedicated OCD patient could produce. A pair of knee high boots covered his feet, much to his disdain, and his neat new pants were tucked into them comfortably. Blue and silver shields were strapped to his shoulders and chained together in front for a very respectable look. Naruto absolutely hated this, even if he had to admit that he looked pretty good.

"I didn't know my folks either. They both kicked it when I died, though I can't blame them for it. Shit happens. At least they dealt with it the best they could instead of running away, know what I mean?" Naruto commented just as casually, feeling very little pain over the memories. Life had moved on, in big ways.

Seifer eyed his roommate cautiously, "No, I don't know really, how did they die?"

Naruto froze for a moment, and then resumed his primping, "Saving my sorry ass, what else? Course I was a baby then so not much I could have done to avoid the trouble."

Seifer nodded while thumbing his chin thoughtfully, "Hey Naruto… I got a question for you."

Naruto heard Seifer use his given name for the first time since they had learned about each other, and he couldn't begin to think of what brought it on. He resumed his preparations while keeping his guard up a little, "Go ahead and ask."

"Why do you fight?" Seifer asked, not knowing the weight of his question.

Those four words rang in Naruto's ears as his hands stopped. He let them fall to his sides slowly as he kept his eyes glued on the reflection in the mirror. Those were the same four words that had really given him a lot to think about so long ago. In many ways, they had been a great deal to blame for his change towards being a better person, towards trying to build connections with others. That had backfired greatly. His right hand rubbed at the mark on his chest under his uniform.

"Well, Seifer, why don't you tell me why you fight first?" Naruto suddenly asked with his eyes covered in shadow.

Seifer thought about the answer he had always had in his head, "Well to be honest… it is all part of my dream. I'm not ready to share that dream just yet… not with anyone. But I will say this… I want to be the hero that someone needs."

"I can relate to that. There was a time, back when I was little… I remember wanting to prove people wrong. I wanted to get stronger and stronger until no one could say anything about me. I hated people so god damn much, and it would have felt so good… so fucking good to shove my success in their faces for always… believing I was a nobody. Then I met someone who changed that in me. They died protecting someone that they cared a great deal for, like my parents had. They did it because in that moment, however brief it was, they had been useful to their most cherished person, the one who meant more than life itself.

When I look back now, I know that it was so cheesy and fucking romantic that I don't know what to think. How many times I would like to slap the taste out of their mouth for being so stupid. But… I think in that moment where they thought they were broken and useless, and did the last thing to be useful that they could think of… in that final moment, they were the strongest person I had ever met. They had no great kill count, no perfect strategies, no endless reinforcements, and no super powerful weapons or magic… nothing but the desire to protect that one person.

So, why do I fight, Seifer Almasy? I fight because I don't make many bonds, but those I do are so strong… that I would give anything in the world to protect them. To feel my heart ache for them gives me life; to see them ascend and succeed gives me purpose. I will protect those that I care for with everything that I have and everything that I am. That is the promise of a lifetime."

Seifer was breathless as he listened to the uncharacteristic passion and solidarity in his voice. In many ways, it reminded him of his dream, and yet he felt that his own dream paled in comparison to what Naruto had said. To protect others for the sake of others and not for the glory or honor… did he have anyone he would give so much for? A vision of Fujin and Raijin flashed through his mind, and he smiled a very small and sincere smile. He had spent so many years using them to better himself… and just now he realized he had never considered their needs. They were his best friends…

"So, Seifer Almasy…" Naruto suddenly spoke again, his voice still strong and impassioned.

Seifer shook from his thoughts and looked up into the fierce eyes of Uzumaki Naruto, the cerulean orbs that seemed to glow with magical resonance.

"Why do you fight?"

* * *

Zell stood outside the Ballroom of Balamb Garden fidgeting with his new duds. In truth, he loved the new uniform look, despite how uncomfortable he looked. It reminded him of the kinds of suits comic book heroes wore while under cover. He imagined ripping the sucker off to reveal an amazing costume underneath and it cheered him up a bit. His current problem was… well, this kind of thing had never occurred to him before…

Zell Dincht, expert martial artist, master of several forms of advanced styles, first Garden student to choose the powered gauntlets for a primary weapon… couldn't dance.

"Fuck, no one told me I would have to do this… I am so uncoordinated!" Zell grumbled heatedly from his place just outside the Ballroom doors leading out to the Quad.

Naruto had been standing behind the brawler for a while watching him with amusement, hands in his pockets, "Someone looks excited. They serving hot dogs?"

"For the love of God you know how to fuck with a guy! Gah… my heart…" Zell lurched over and grabbed at his chest.

"Stop being an old man, bro. It would take more than a heart attack to kick your ass. Now, tell me what has you so on edge. Hottie in there give you a taste of her eye candy? Almost trip going in? Selphie trying to sign people up for her team again?" Naruto asked casually to try and get Zell to answer for the sake of shutting him up.

Zell took the bait and rushed forward to cover Naruto's mouth with his hands, "Would you keep it down, damn it!? Yes, Selphie is in there doing that right now, but that isn't my issue. I uh… I can't…"

"Can't…. eat? Can't spin bottles with hot girls? Can't get wet after midnight? Come on man, spit it out." Naruto egged on trying to rile Zell up so he would spill the beans.

"I can't dance, ok?!" Zell shouted loud enough for several people inside to look their way, only to see Naruto alone and waving with a friendly smile.

When everyone had returned to their food, drinks, and conversations, Zell climbed out of a bush nearby cursing as he picked a stray piece of something out of his crotch, "Fucking shrubs…"

"Losing fights with the landscaping will not look good on your next assessment report from old man Cid." Naruto teased crossing his arms and smiling a little too friendly at him.

Zell flipped him the bird very eloquently before speaking, "I can't go in there, I will look like a total idiot. No one will want to hire me because I will look like a clumsy fool, I will lose this position, and no one will ever let me live it down back home. I am ruined, god damn it!"

"I would slap you to get you to shut up and get it together if I didn't know how good your reflexes are. Listen, dancing is no big deal." Naruto replied very smoothly.

Zell scoffed, "Like you can dance. You seem the type to try and weasel your way out of situations like these."

"I won't lie; I used to bail out of parties like these all the time. I do, however, know how to dance. I was taken by… someone I knew… to a place where women were paid to… see to things. Several were paid to help teach me how to dance and behave at social gatherings with noblemen." Naruto replied while eyeing several well dressed people inside the Ball.

"You mean… you were in a… a… a…" Zell stammered while his cheeks flushed heavily.

Naruto sighed, "I have been to several, but not for anything like that. My old legal guardian used to take me on vacations… he had specific tastes. Least he thought to have me taught some things… proper things mind you!"

"I can't even imagine being around all those women with their… their… stuff hanging out…" Zell rubbed his face to try and massage the redness away, but his thoughts kept the blood pumping.

Naruto eyed him warily, "These places were much classier than that… well most of them… some of them… the point is, there were places with decent women. You can call them escorts really. They were paid for much more than base, indecent things."

"Okay just stop this is getting me nowhere but deeper in the shit pile. Your seedy past isn't going to help me get through tonight. And god knows what will happen in the future when I am expected to play a part like this!" Zell posed dramatically with his head hung low, arm up and covering his eyes, anime tears creating a fake puddle at his feet.

Naruto groaned, "Look, I can teach you how to dance."

"Really bro?! You mean it?!" Zell perked right up like a puppy hearing a snack bag.

Naruto palmed his forehead as he reconsidered his life choices, "It can't be helped, and I am already training you to be better. This is just another lesson. Come, I need to show you the positions."

Always the professional student, Zell was eager to learn and stood at attention to observe Naruto. The ex-shinobi decided to show him the moves for a basic waltz considering the style of music he could hear inside. First came the positions of the feet, which were the most important thing to avoid embarrassing anyone. Stepping on toes was a taboo and would instantly lose a man points with any lady he danced with. Next he instructed the brawler on where to place his hands, which Zell was instantly uncomfortable with.

"I said put your God damned hand on my waist, or I swear to every God in this world that I will find a way to perform an open air colonoscopy." Naruto threatened gently while trying to deal with a blushing Zell.

"No way bro, that is so… so… so… gay, man!" Zell hissed under his breath.

Naruto glared at Zell hotly, "What is that supposed to mean? You a fucking homophobe, bro? Something wrong with gay people?"

Zell's' eyes went wide and then he waved his hands in front of his face rapidly, "No! No, no, no, nothing like that bro! I swear I don't have a problem with gay people! I just don't want to be touching dudes in a gay way…"

Naruto sighed, "This isn't going anywhere… looks like I will have to pull out the secret weapon."

Zell didn't like the way that sounded at all. Something told him to run, like the crying shrieks of a thousand perverts in the distance. What kind of secret weapon would Naruto have to make this… situation… easier? And then Naruto held up his hand in the way he did for magic.

"Oh god…" Zell uttered before he was engulfed in smoke.

After a few seconds of coughing the smoke cleared to reveal a very pretty blonde girl about their age. She was a bit shorter than him, and she had the most amazing shade of tan on her smooth skin. Her sunshine blonde hair was dolled up in two adorable pony tails that gave her a childish charm to go with her beauty. She was dressed in a simple sleeveless dark blue gown and matching heels. The girl was a goddamn bombshell, but something about the teasing look in her eyes made Zell shiver in a very bad way.

"Well hello there, handsome. I'm so embarrassed… You keep staring at me like that and I might end up falling for you." Her voice was angelic, and her giggle like sweet honey to the ears.

"Uh…" Zell replied with as much intelligence as his brain could muster.

The nameless hottie sauntered over to the brawler and placed her hands on his chest, looking longingly into his eyes, "Dance with me, Zell…"

Her whispered breath struck him in the face much like a truck strikes a guard rail, due to his absent mind. Blushing far more than ever before, Zell could only mechanically assume the position that Naruto had drilled into his head for leading. The young woman happily took up her position, making sure to press into him snugly. Zell was lost in the moment, and didn't register when he started to dance. Being a master of his own body, it wasn't unrealistic for him to take to the art of dancing quite well. In fact, as natural as he was at fighting, he also seemed to be a natural on the dance floor. He didn't know how long the two of them danced while staring into each other's eyes, one set sky blue, the other a deep cerulean.

As the song ended, the two stopped. The moon above them was shining rather brilliantly on them, illuminating the strange girl's shining locks and bright eyes. Zell felt lost… so lost… and then he leant forward slowly. Inches stretched on for miles. His eyes closed as he awaited the kiss that would be his first and most memorable. The girl was perfect in every way, a dream to covet but never truly have… and then 'she' spoke… in a very familiar male voice.

"Not on the first date, bro."

"Guahhhhhhhh!" The scream was heard around the entire Garden, waking several younger students, startling patrolling security guards, scaring the day lights out of most of the party goers, and causing one particular blonde who was back in his dorm sharpening his sword to smirk a very malicious and evil smirk that told of future mischief.

* * *

Naruto was leaning on the frame of the glass paned doors of the Ballroom grinning while in his normal body. Zell was heaving while bracing himself on a tree nearby. Naruto didn't want to ruin the moment by talking, so he waited for the inevitable Zell Dincht comment to make his night.

"That…was not… nice… urg!" Zell retched rather harshly before taking several deep breaths.

Naruto shook his head, "Quit your whining bro, at least we know you are light on your feet. Get yourself together and get back in there. I bet Selphie would love a dance while she tells you the benefits of the concert she wants to throw."

"Fucking… hate… you…"

"No need to remind me how much you love me. Our lips were so close; I can still remember how chapped yours are. For real bro, use some Vaseline or something." Naruto replied cheekily.

"You're an ass. For this, I will find a way to ruin you. Mark my words and mark them well, Zell Dincht is no one's fool!" Zell cried indignantly before walking into the Ball with confidence, though he was still a strange mix of green and red.

Naruto laughed and silently accepted the challenge before relaxing there for a while. A couple more dances followed, and he saw Zell showing off his new skills with an actual woman this time. Naruto smiled seeing how much fun his friend was having, even if it was a very basic dance style he knew. Naruto knew a few more dance styles from his time back home, but he didn't really feel like dancing with anyone inside the Ballroom. In fact, the shinobi only had one person on his mind.

The sight of those eyes… so worried and caring as they sought to find any and all of his pains. The odd chilling sensation that her every touch brought to his body, so cold to counter his naturally warmer body. Her odd quirks and strange flip flopping personality. The way her body moved with such grace in every action she took. Her voice as it spoke his name so softly that even the memory soothed him. She was a picture of perfection, like the morning after a fresh snowfall. She radiated with beauty that threatened to blind, and yet the eye could nary be torn away.

' _ **God, you are lucky it is me who has control over the link right now, Kit.'**_ Kyu's deep and amused voice echoed in his mind, interrupting his thoughts.

Naruto had enough decency to look sheepish, "Dunno what you're talking about… dumb fox."

' _ **Let me see if I can sum it up for you… hmm…. 'Oh Shiva, you're so pretty. Oh Shiva, hold me like you held me on the beach. Oh Shiva, let me kiss your lips. Mwah, mwah, mwah…' Ha, ha, haaaa!'**_ Kyu cackled loudly after he couldn't maintain his rather impressive impression of Naruto.

"Fuck you, god damn sadistic fox brother…" Naruto growled while blushing.

' _ **Naruto, just want to keep you aware of the fact that Shiva isn't human… okay? I know you don't want to hear this, but it's true. You haven't exactly had the best… judgment when it comes to the fairer sex. Remember the little blonde one I tried to warn you about? Remember how you forgot about me, about your training, only for her to break your heart? I do not want to see that happen again, your heartbreak broke me as well… just be careful.'**_

Naruto heaved a heavy sigh as he looked up at the moon, "I know brother, I will try to keep my head this time and not get too attached. I guess it is just easy for me to latch on to anyone who shows me affection, ya know? No wonder you always call humans pathetic."

' _ **Humans are pathetic, but you aren't. Look… I am not saying to give up on anything you might have been interested in pursuing, I am just trying to make sure that you think things through properly before you get hurt. Fool me once, fool me twice, right?'**_ Kyu spoke softly, his voice a low growl that would seem menacing to anyone else, but Naruto understood it to be his failed attempt at reassurance.

"Thanks, Kyu… I'll be careful." Naruto replied while nodding.

' _ **Please, don't bother making that promise. Damn idiot… you always act carelessly! Anyway, it seems someone had taken notice of our conversation. I will take a nap. You be a good boy talking to your hime."**_ Kyu laughed heartily before the connection severed.

"Fucking indecent… rude fox… bastard…" Naruto grumbled while fighting the redness in his cheeks.

' _ **Language young man! Why were you and brother Kyu speaking just now? Is something wrong?'**_ Shiva had a hint of worry in her voice, and Naruto wondered about that while sweating comically.

"You just assume I am in trouble… what exactly has that fox been telling you about me?" Naruto asked mechanically.

Silence…

"I'm gonna kill that fox…"

Shiva giggled then, _**'Please, do not be angry with Kyu, I was just curious about your origins so he regaled us with tales of your childhood adventures. It took you quite some time to get out of that clumsiness, didn't it?'**_

Naruto shrugged, "Not really, it was mostly for the mask. I won't lie though, there were a few real accidents in there. Especially with that frustrating cat…"

Shiva was careful not to sound too curious, _**'What do you mean for the mask? Kyu never mentioned a mask.'**_

Naruto flinched visibly when he realized he had mentioned that damned mask again. It was a rather unpleasant memory from his past that he would rather just drop. Then again, he knew that if he were to make lasting bonds with anyone he would need to trust them not to judge him. Shiva was someone he felt he could trust even if she wasn't human and even if he could get very distracted thinking about how beautiful she was; he felt like she was trustworthy. Heaving a sigh, he decided then to give it a shot and deal with the consequences should they come.

"When I was very small, before Kyu became an active part of my life, I was very innocent and curious. I loved books, counting numbers, and practicing how to write. I had to use my hand in the loose dirt outdoors to practice my words and numbers because people didn't allow me paper and ink, and I was never allowed any books, so I had to sneak them at night. I thought the people at the orphanage were protecting me from getting cuts or ruining my clothes or something. The truth was they were absolutely terrified of me becoming smart and learning how to fend for myself. They were trying to force me to be a mindless drone with no skills, a puppet.

At first I was very hurt, and I think they enjoyed seeing me like that. It was some kind of perverted game for those people. When the time came for them to send me to the primary learning school that taught basics to civilians, they sent me to live on the streets. They couldn't legally keep me from getting an education so long as they were my guardians. A street rat however is not their responsibility and they weren't punishable by law because I had allegedly run away. It was better that way, at first, because I was able to just do things on my own without people interfering. The problem came when people took notice of me, and then they sought to do the same thing the orphanage caretakers had done. It seemed everyone wanted little Naruto to be a dumb, harmless punching bag.

Sometime after that, I changed. I decided to hell with those people, I wouldn't allow them to see the real me anymore. I wore a mask… not a physical mask like the ones at fancy dress parties… the kind that no one can see. I became a loud, obnoxious, clumsy idiot with no friends, no qualms about indecent behavior, and no respect for others. I would create rude nicknames for people, and push away anyone who tried to fool me into believing they wanted to be close to me. No one wanted that, so why be someone who wanted it. I was a loner who would work himself to the bone, and turn away all advice and offers of help. There were only a few people who knew the real Uzumaki Naruto back there, and most of them died. Who the hell knows how the rest of them are doing now?

My mask protected me from the people who sought to hurt me. As long as they figured they had done their job, they were satisfied. The problem was, it worked too well and pushed more people away than I needed. There were people who genuinely would have cared about me, but I had played the fool so well that I had quite literally become a fool. I can't change the past though… That is why I have been trying my best here, being friendlier, helping others, accepting advice and criticisms, and working to be a better me. This is who I really am behind the mask, and I am done being ashamed of myself."

Naruto had his arms crossed as he listened to the silence in his mind. It was eerily quiet, and he had the feeling that the connection might have been broken. Figured, he was stupid to think that she was actually interested in his pitiful human problems. What the hell does a God want to hear a human whining for? Kyu had of course been right, again, and he was not looking forward to that conversation and the promise of heavy ribbing he would receiving. While his thoughts rampaged with doubt and self degradation, he finally noticed the insistent pulsing of his Junction Watch. The glow was hard to see with his uniform sleeve because the heavy maroon cuff covered his wrist. Understanding the signal, he faced the open area of the quad and held a half-ram seal.

The magic came fast and fluid, and soon enough a whirlwind of snowflakes formed a few feet away from him. The mini blizzard intensified to white-out conditions in the confined space. Naruto thought it looked rather intense, but there was hardly any sound, and no wind escaped the area of the summon. When the small cyclone burst, the Quad became a winter wonderland in the length of a minute. Naruto had covered his face to protect it from being buffeted by the incoming wave of snow. Looking around the aftermath, Naruto couldn't help a chuckle thinking of the faces of Garden Faculty trying to clean this mess up, with trees and bushes and the grassy field all covered in about five inches of fresh white powder. It reminded him of his trip to Snow Country.

Then Naruto caught sight of the Snow Queen of the impromptu winter kingdom that had taken over the Quad. There in her lesser form stood Shiva in all of her beautiful glory. Her skin was slightly less blue than normal giving her a pale completion that was perfect for her. Her hair had taken on a much more normal texture, and had grown to about her mid back. She wore her hair natural and straight with a hair clip made of ice favoring the left side of her face. Covering her body was a very conservative double strap midi dress made of the softest light blue silk he had ever seen. The dress ended just above her knees, and the top was high to accentuate less of her assets and more of her subtle beauty. Crystal slippers adorned her feet that sparkled in the light of the moon above.

While Naruto stood captivated, Shiva merely smiled and walked over to him slowly. Each step was calculated and precise. The snow did not falter under her weight as it would a normal person, so her beautiful slippers weren't sinking deep into the powder. When the two of them were face to face, Naruto tried to speak but a gentle hand found his lips and he froze. Literally, he froze, just a little, but it was okay, Shiva made sure that it was just a little frostiness on his lips and not full on ice. Giggling at how he looked with a small white mustache on his lips, she then put her hands behind her back and took on a very bashful pose.

When she spoke, her voice held none of the usual power that it did when she took on her larger forms, "Naruto, thank you for telling me your story. I know how hard it is for you to trust people from watching you struggle with your friends. It means a lot to me that you would give me a chance."

Naruto looked at her while she eyed her own feet in a very shy manner and he grinned a bit, "Thank you for listening to me. The hardest thing about opening up is knowing who to open up to. You made my day."

Shiva blushed and then peeked up at him with her bright blue eyes, "Just your day?"

Naruto almost had a very girlish squeal of 'kawaii' escape him when he saw how cute she looked with that pose and her flushed cheeks so dark blue, but he was manly enough to just cough in his hand and smirk to act cool, "Well yeah, if you want the night too you'll have to be my date to the Ball."

There was a moment that passed between the two of them where both of them had a small short circuit. For Naruto, he had no fucking idea where that had come from. In his eagerness to be the cool guy that he wished he was, he had just blurted out the first thing he imagined a cool guy would say. He was glad it wasn't something like 'hey babe, come dance a little for me' or 'come on mama, let's shake our tails, yosh.' Still, he was lost in a sea of his own stupidity at the moment, and drowning in the silence. Shiva was in a state of shock due to thought overload. When she had urged to be summoned, she chose a form that she thought he would find pleasant given the atmosphere. A little part of her wanted him to ogle her like men are wont to do when they see a woman they approve of, but that was beside the point… kind of. She had never expected him to ask her to accompany him to the Ball. What would people think if he came walking in with a GF on his arm? Was it even allowed?

And most importantly… had he meant it?

"Is that… what you want, Naruto-kun?" Shiva asked tentatively, her voice soft and timid.

Naruto snapped his open mouth shut tight for a moment, and then spoke while his cheeks flushed, "Well… if you aren't… you know… busy with something… or whatever…"

Naruto hated this feeling of vulnerability that came with such unfamiliar territory. He would rather be behind enemy lines with nothing but a ball point pen and a pack of ladies disposable razors. Give Uzumaki Naruto a task to complete that involved danger, adrenaline, and a lack of intelligence and he was one confident bastard. Affairs of the heart were a totally different situation, and he knew Kyu was watching this entire thing play out right now. In fact, he imagine the laughter echoing throughout his Mindscape even now. His tension rose to a boiling point until it all came crashing down with four simple words.

"I would love to."

Shiva did a small twirl on the spot while smiling brightly, "Do you think I am dressed appropriately for the Ball?"

Naruto had to reboot, but as soon as his systems were functioning he grinned brightly, "You kidding me? Those people in there are all gonna end up on their asses the minute you walk in."

"I would smack you for your language, but it was a compliment to me so I will let it slide. Watch that tongue mister." Shiva waved her finger in his face with a look of mock anger that was spoiled by the upturning of her lips.

Naruto bent into a low bow then, "Forgive me, Shiva-hime, this humble man is but a lowlife and hooligan. I will submit to your punishment, however horrible it may be."

Knowing he was just trying to get a rise out of her, she just crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes, though her cheeks were just a little darker than they ought to be, "Very funny. Are you done acting like an idiot?"

"I beg your pardon, madam. To insinuate that I am a mere actor, the shame! This is all me." Naruto smirked after he stood back up and posed in a dramatic affronted manner.

The two of them shared a smile before they burst into laughter and giggles. Naruto had always been one to use humor to relieve stress, and the both of them were glad for it. With the threat of awkward stiffness a thing of the past, Naruto gestured toward the open door of the Ballroom while offering his arm to the lovely lady. She took it graciously and held his arm in hers snugly, enjoying the warmth his body brought to her normally chill. Together the two of them entered the brightly lit Ballroom and it was like passing into another dimension. While outside it had been quiet and serene, inside was loud and active. Dancers were moving about the large round floor while many groups of SeeD Agents and potential clients from all over the world were enjoying food and drink at tables around the perimeter.

Naruto noticed Zell discussing something animatedly with a man who was clearly an ambassador judging by his fine suit and regal sashes. The ambassador seemed riveted in the tale and was even gesturing wildly with the younger man. Selphie was chatting up a group of SeeD Agents who he had never seen before. They were obviously SeeD who had been away on mission but returned just in time for the celebrations. Naruto chuckled when he saw one of them nodding off while she droned on about her upcoming show. And then there was the least surprising find of the evening. Standing off to one side of the Ballroom was Leon, and much like the statue he was, the man was standing leaning against the wall with a sour look and an aura of fuck off that would have made his ex-teammate jealous.

Naruto led Shiva toward the dance floor causing several people to either gasp or whisper quietly. People were confused, and some a little jealous. Those who knew of Shiva were startled to see her in such a form, and even more so that she was casually strolling on the arm of one of their SeeD. Cid was eyeing them from across the room with a knowing smile on his face. He gave them a toast of his glass which they returned with bows of their heads. Seeing the exchanged gave many of the confused party goers less to worry about, but the jealous glares were dauntless. Naruto only noticed the men giving him the worst looks which pleased him immensely. How many times he had been on that end, glaring daggers at a certain someone who had the attention of every girl he met.

Shiva, quite the opposite, noted all the heated glares that several female SeeD were giving her. It was no secret that Naruto had become a bit of a celebrity around the Garden. His strength in combat was made public because of his sound beating of Zell on the regular, which many considered damn impressive because Zell was acknowledged for his skill in hand-to-hand techniques. Besides being a powerhouse, he was also incredibly friendly to almost everyone. The only exceptions had been students who went out of their way to be ass holes around him, and in the eyes of his peers he was soundly justified in tearing them down a few pegs. And should those two aspects of Uzumaki Naruto not have caught the attention of the young ladies of Balamb, his looks never failed to spark interest. He was fit, kept himself very clean and neat in his uniforms and his hair was just the kind of unruly mess that made him seem like a rebel bad boy, despite the sunshine blonde color.

' _And he is all mine tonight, ladies…'_ Shiva thought while flashing a victorious smirk in several directions while Naruto wasn't looking.

"Shiva, would you like to dance? I'd like to get loose at least once with the best looking girl here before someone comes barging over and demanding your time." Naruto asked quietly while leaning close enough to keep his comment between the two of them.

Shiva had enough control to fight back her blush as she smiled, "Don't think you can get rid of me so easily. Besides at least one dance I should share with the headmaster, I'll be frozen to you all night."

"Now, are you sure it's the winter you govern… because with lines like that, you could easily be the corn goddess here." Naruto replied cheekily, earning him a smack on the arm.

"Just shut up and dance." Shiva ordered with a flourish of her hair.

Naruto stood aside and bowed to her, "So you wish it, my lady."

Standing up, Naruto took her hand and led her out to the floor, a few steps in he exchanged a look with her and his steps became sharper, and his movements very curved. Shiva saw his shift in demeanor and knew exactly how to respond to match his movements. They became as one, mirroring each flow and motion, his angular and strong, hers smooth and graceful. Several pairs on the dance floor spread out to give them room as the music shifted to match their style. People who had been busy talking or trying to look interested in others all turned to watch what had been gathering so much attention. The show was rather elegant, and a few noticed the intimacy whenever Naruto and Shiva drew close enough to dip or sway as one.

To the two of them, it was only them. Shiva was impressed by how suave Naruto could be, considering he was always such a wild and goofy guy. Naruto was the full package that she had always fantasized about. He was strong, brave, a force to be reckoned with in a fight… and yet he was kind, and gentle, and understanding of others. He strove to give and rarely sought to take for himself. And now… he was dancing her socks off! Well… if she were wearing socks they would be off. For Naruto, this was a rare chance that he felt relaxed and he was enjoying himself immensely. He had the girl, he had the moves, he had the promotion earlier, he had his brother with him… he had never been this happy in his entire miserable life back home. And the reason he had the chance to come here, to be a part of a new world and be the man he wanted to be… was twirling in front of him at that moment. It all started with her approving gaze, and that spark in her eyes when she joyously welcomed his existence in this new world.

When the music stopped, the two of them were in a tight embrace, faces mere inches apart. Neither felt winded at all, their entire dance energizing them to capacity, but they were both panting lightly. Naruto felt unusually warm, well for him, and he couldn't take his eyes off of hers. Shiva was feeling a chill run through her body, but not the normal chill that she controlled. This was involuntary, and it felt thrilling, sending her body to shivers. As their breathing collided between them, his warm breath and her cold, a light mist would form. Neither of them could move, neither wanting to break this moment of intimacy that neither of them had ever experienced before. And then…

"Wooooo! That was awesome, bro!"

Only the most extreme of voices would break the two from their trance, and soon the sound of applause filled their ears. Naruto looked sheepish while grinning and waving to the watchers, though he snuck his arm around Shiva's waist to pull her into his side. The icy goddess could help noticing the possessive gesture and instead of becoming a blushing mess she instead smiled and wrapped her own arm around his back, her other moving around front so that her hand was on his chest. If Naruto had seen the glares sent her way, he didn't mention it, and neither would Shiva.

Soon enough the music started up again for a less spicy and more casual tune. Naruto led his lady over to join Zell where he stood with a huge grin on his face. The goofy brawler had no idea what he had ruined, but then again perhaps it had been for the best. Naruto did want to move slowly, and in the passion of the moment he almost took a big step too soon. Shiva on the other hand was fuming, and would certainly enjoy the first time she was summoned during one of their spars to… acquaint him with how to handle fighting against GFs. Her smile never faltered though, regardless of her feminine fury.

"Bro, that was pretty tight! Maybe you can keep helping me out with lessons? I don't think I will be able to pull that off, but I wouldn't mind having the confidence to dip and move like you do." Zell said while rubbing his nose and grinning, a sign he was embarrassed to ask for assistance.

Naruto smirked, "I think we will combine the weight training with the dancing. What better way to work every muscle group while also developing the muscle memory to dance?"

Zell paled considerably, even his tattoo seemed to lose color, "Er… yeah… oh boy… can't wait…"

"You're such a good friend, Naruto… so clever of you to come up with that on the spot. I would recommend using double the weight on his arms, considering their tremendous strength all ready. No point in wasting precious training time, right?" Shiva added in innocently while holding her index finger to her chin in a cute thoughtful girl pose.

Naruto smiled brightly and nodded, "Excellent idea, Shiva-chan, I definitely wouldn't want to waste his time and energy without fully utilizing all of our advantages."

"You two are trying to kill me…" Zell muttered while hunched over in the darkness of his despair and depression.

' _I had considered it, yes…'_ Shiva thought before saying, "Of course not Zell Dincht, you are one of the mortals under my blessing."

Zell's pitiful grumbling was music to her ears, and her smile only became that much more genuine. Naruto just laughed at his poor victim, er, friend, and then snatched two glasses of champagne off the tray of a server as they wandered by. Handing his date one of the two, they tapped glasses before sipping on the strange bubbly liquor. Naruto was never fond of such things, but it was a party so he would look the part. The three spoke for some time after that before Shiva excused herself to go and speak with the headmaster. Naruto knew she had been wanting to catch the old man alone, and idly wondered what was up.

* * *

"Bro, this whole bring your GF to the Ball thing has a lot of people talking. Are you sure it was a smart move?" Zell asked quietly, taking on a serious tone rather than his usual laid back persona.

Naruto narrowed his eyes as he scanned the Ballroom. There were several sets of eyes, both friendly and unknown, watching Shiva's every move. To say he was on edge with her so far away from his side was an understatement, "I do. Chances are very high that I will be performing missions alongside the Guardians often, and rumors will spread of my ability to summon them for extended times, rather than the brief small scale attacks normal SeeD perform. If the clients here spread the word sooner, it will bring more business to Balamb, and it will save me the trouble of trying to act in the shadows all the time. I am tired of hiding what I can do. Let them be amazed or frightened, doesn't take the skin off my ass."

"Suppose someone decides they want to snatch you and try to figure out how you do it? What if people start calling you a sorcerer?" Zell asked while keeping an eye on their backs for eavesdroppers.

Naruto sighed and then smiled, "Then I guess I will have to run."

"Don't worry bro, if that happens… I got your back." Zell bumped Naruto on the shoulder with his fist lightly.

Naruto shook his head, "No man, I can't ask you to abandon all this because I got in over my head. You have a position in SeeD, a family in town, friends… if you were to run with me you would give all that up for a weird guy with freaky powers. Not a good battle strategy, guy."

"It isn't about what is best for me. If my friend is in trouble for some shit that he can't help, then I am sorry but I am going to protect them as long as I can. You got a tag-along for life, got it?" Zell insisted while holding up his fist.

Naruto was touched by Zell's very sincere offer. He couldn't believe the guy had come to like him this much over the course of one month. Was this what it was like to have true friends? Is this how others felt when he said the same things? He had always been the one promising such things, never the other way around. This would be the first time anyone genuinely came to him and promised to be his support through thick and thin, no matter what. He wanted to deny the words, call Zell out for bullshitting him. When he looked into those fierce Zell Dincht eyes he could only see the truth in his intent.

Naruto bumped his fist with Zell's and grinned, "I got it, tag-along for life."

Zell suddenly grabbed his wrist and pulled him right into his face, "If you ever pull that shit on me where you change into a girl again, I am going to kick your balls so hard you'll be tea-bagging yourself."

Naruto chuckled sheepishly while holding his free hand up defensively, "Hai, hai… take it easy, it was just a prank…" Zell growled, "…that I will never ever do again, heh…"

"A prank? What prank is this?" A voice behind Naruto asked, and then Zell visibly flinched.

Naruto was released and turned by Zell who remained behind him to try and block the view of his body from the young woman who had spoken. Naruto, not exactly sure how he had been turned on the spot without feeling his feet moving beneath him, smiled a confused and cautious smile, "Selphie-chan, so glad to see you here. You look great in the new uniforms! It screams Garden Spirit; it's perfect for you."

Selphie smiled brightly and did a cute twirl on the spot, "I was thinking the same thing the minute I found it in my closet! Thank you for the compliment. Now, about this prank I heard… you didn't demolish anything in the Quad again, did you?"

"Oh God no, not after the thorough talking to you gave me that day. I swear there wasn't supposed to be collateral damage done to the stage…" Selphie tapped her foot, "…but that is no excuse, heh…"

"If that's the case I see no reason why telling me about the prank could anger me in any way." Selphie replied cheerfully.

"Oh, there is no reason to bring it up honestly, it wasn't even meant as a prank until I saw the effect…" Naruto evaded masterfully.

Zell saw his opportunity to escape Selphie and her lectures on Garden Spirit and helping with her show, "He turned into a sexy girl and used feminine wiles to seduce me and make me into a pervert."

Naruto just closed his eyes, awaiting the inevitable. He heard very soothing opera music in his head as time slowed down. It was so amazingly soft; he hardly even wanted to consider it opera. And the tune behind the singer was just so melodic. After a moment, he felt it. The hair on the top of his head was being pressed down slowly. Lock after lock of his mop folded under the pressure until his scalp felt tightness. Then came the impact, first one, then two, until four distinct nubs of calcium with very little padding were pressing down on his head. His skull trembled from the impacts, and his jaw jostled before tightening.

Selphie stood to the side with a very satisfied smirk while two, not just one but two blondes were standing holding their head, hair messed up, lumps forming in the thick locks. Zell looked absolutely crestfallen, considering he had not been able to escape and he had suffered what he believed undue punishment. Naruto was simply laughing nervously. This sort of thing used to happen all the time after all, so having a lady smash his skull with a fist was like riding a bike. You never forget how to recover.

"Why the hell would you hit the victim for?!" Zell cried, groaning when the throbbing increased from his yelling.

Naruto beat her to the punch and let her bask in her victory while he explained, "First of all, for disrespecting women by turning into one and acting indecently toward a male, I was the one to receive the worse of it. For being a pervert who could be seduced by such underhanded tactics, you get hit. It is standard procedure."

Zell balked, "How do you come up with all this stuff?"

"I've dealt with a lot of very scary women in my life. You learn to either respect them, or take their punishment. I decided to balance both. I respect them as often as I can, but being a simple man I break the rules from time to time. Instead of crying, I man up and show I can take it. You grow a pair after so many beatings. Also, Selphie quite literally hits like a girl. No one as cute as she is would really be able to throw a punch to hurt me. Her magic though, that shit is nuts." Naruto laughed at the huffing and blushing Selphie who decided against continuing this destructive conversation.

* * *

Naruto watched her stomp off dragging Zell who was begging for forgiveness. The sight was hilarious, but he soon found the silence uncomfortable. He noticed Shiva was planning a little something with Cid, so he wouldn't disturb her just yet. Instead he saw an opportunity to speak with his least favorite friend. Sauntering over casually, Naruto eventually assumed the same lazy and uninterested pose as Lean as the two leans on the same small stretch of wall. Leon tried to ignore the blonde menace, but it was hard when the bastard was doing a perfect imitation of him!

Leon groaned and sipped at the drink he had been nursing for the past hour, "Going to say anything?"

"You aren't much of a talker, so I thought I would keep my trap shut." Naruto replied coolly.

"You know damn well what you are actually doing, and so do I." Leon shot back while scowling into his half empty glass.

Naruto shrugged innocently, "Maybe, maybe not… but I don't actually have anything to say. You don't give off the vibe that you have hobbies or dreams."

"Dreams are pointless. I have goals… and I do have a hobby." Leon grumbled lowly while looking away from Naruto.

Naruto balked and then stood straight, "A hobby eh? Come on, tell me about it! If you do, I will answer one question for you, no lying and no bullshit to dodge the question."

Leon gaped at Naruto, wondering why he seemed to interested all of a sudden. It didn't make sense to care about other people and the silly things they did to pass the time. He didn't bother showing off his own hobby because it just made sense to keep it a secret. But… here Naruto was, so eager to learn something trivial about him, and offering Leon a chance to dig into his secrets. The opportunity seemed too good to be true… but Naruto hadn't been untrustworthy yet.

"Fine… I… I like to…" Leon mumbled the last few words.

Naruto knew not to be a tease with someone like Leon. The boy responded well to respect of boundaries, unlike Seifer who could be goaded into talking with teasing and heated arguments. After a moment of holding a confused expression, Leon sighed in the way that he normally did, and then he said it again, but clear.

"I like… to draw."

Naruto looked at Leon with an analyzing eye so intensely that Leon began to sweat anime style. Then Naruto pounded his fist into his palm lightly and smiled, "How didn't I see that before? You totally look like someone who would be drawing in one of those big sketchpads with charcoal or oil paint! I wouldn't want to see you in one of those stupid hats, but I can still picture you at like, a café near the water drawing away while drinking coffee out of one of those huge mugs."

Leon palmed his face while Naruto went on his little imagination journey, "It's not so big a deal. It just helps settle my mind after a day of training."

Naruto tilted his head to the side, "Not a big deal? Being artistic is something I envy. A lot of people will tell you that they wish they could draw like you, and I know it probably gets annoying, but from their perspective it is like… like you are bringing something into the world instead of taking it out. All I was good at for a long time was eating noodles and getting into trouble. It wasn't until my mid teens that I learned how to dance and appreciate music and how to cook. Thing is, no matter how hard I tried, I was always the worst at calligraphy and drawing. It took me a long time to get my writing down so that I could make those seals I showed you guys. Weird thing is, I know it wasn't my hand... it was my eyes. It was like I was seeing the symbols, but they weren't linking together properly. Weird, right?"

Leon eyed Naruto curiously as he spoke, wondering where all of this was coming from. In that one bit of useless information that he had surrendered to the annoying blonde, the boy opened like a broken dam. He sighed as he realized something, "I am guessing that counts as the question I was allowed to ask?"

"Nope, that wasn't a question. I was responding to your degrading comment about your hobby. I thought I would try to relate to you in a way, help you see I was sincere and not being another bandwagon bum." Naruto shrugged.

Leon considered the strange comment for a moment and then decided to let it go. He had a question that he wanted answered, and he was going to get it, "Okay then, my question is… where are you from? And don't give me that you can't remember stuff. It fools others, not me."

Naruto leaned on the wall next to Leon again and put his hands in his pockets, "I am from the Village of Konoha, located in the Land of Fire, heart of the Elemental Nations."

"That… that place doesn't exist." Leon groaned as he felt he had been cheated.

Naruto shoved off the wall and gave him an indifferent stare, "Truth is not reliant on belief. Take it or leave it that is your own choice to make."

Leon was about to make an argument when the two of them were greeted to the sight of a very cute girl with dark hair. She was wearing a very lovely spaghetti strap dress of a light peach color, and matching heels. She gave such a bright and cheery smile that Naruto wondered if she were some kind of an angel, but then again it seemed all the women of this world had some angelic quality to their subtle beauty. Thankfully for the ex-ninja, he wasn't the center of her attention, it was Leon. The brunette gave her a passing glance and then went about ignoring her. This didn't go down well judging by her insistent posture.

"Leon, buddy, the lady obviously wants to dance. Her usual partner isn't here, so why not give it a go? Shake your tail feather, ya stiff." Naruto grinned as Leon glared hotly at him from the corner of his eye.

The girl seemed startled by his statement, and she looked at Naruto warily. The blond gave her a wink to reassure her he wouldn't say anything more, and strangely enough she relaxed and returned to looking at Leon, "Yes please, shall we have a dance? You look so unhappy here."

"No." Leon replied simply.

Naruto grabbed Leon by the back of his collar and the seat of his pants and dangled him in the air comically while the girl laughed, "No is the wrong answer, ya lazy bum. Now get that ass on the dance floor or I will kick it from here to Dollet and back again!"

Leon let loose a girlish scream as he flew from Naruto's grip to land clumsily on his feet in the middle of the dance floor. The young woman bowed to Naruto in thanks before rushing out to grab Leon by the arm and force him to loosen up. It was awkward at first, watching the two of them try to get going. The young woman was obviously well versed in dance, and Leon was clearly clueless. Naruto nearly slapped the shit out of a guy who bumped into Leon and then tried to act like it was Leon's fault, but he held back when the young lady dragged Leon away from the moron. The rest of the dance went very smoothly and that advanced training of Leon's kicked in. Naruto clapped for the pair as they danced so well together.

Naruto was then distracted by various fireworks that went off above the Ballroom and showed through the beautiful skylight that he hadn't noticed until that moment. As the last of the explosives faded he looked back down to see Leon stalking back to his corner while the young woman was speaking with the small group around Cid. Shiva was among the group and she seemed pleased, but he had no idea what she would be so pleased about. He noticed Cid excuse himself from the group which caused the young woman to pout a bit, but she stayed put while Cid stepped toward the center of the dance floor. The music stopped and everyone around him stepped back to give him space while he smiled around the room.

"Pardon my intrusion on this wonderful celebration. It is so good to see so many old faces here to support our Garden and the students who have risen up to the challenge and succeeded where many have failed. Our newest five SeeD Agents have broken several records and proven without a doubt that Garden can always, and will always, produce the finest young warriors the world will ever know. There is one SeeD with us tonight though that must be honored for a very special commendation. Due to circumstances beyond his control he was forced into a situation most grueling. Through it all, he found the strength to support his team, and eventually ensure their escape from a very perilous predicament.

This student is named Naruto Uzumaki. His mastery of our most powerful weapon, the Guardian Force, is such that he did battle with a ferocious beast that had been let loose by ignorant fools. Without his effort, it could very well have destroyed what was left of an innocent city and decimated the armies of two nations. So many people have to thank his quick thinking and impressive skills for their lives. During the final moments of the mission, with no thought for his own well being, said student put himself in the way of a blow that may well have ended the life of one of his team mates. Because of this, I have decided to award this student with a new position among SeeD. Please, Naruto Uzumaki, if you would join me here for a moment."

Naruto wove his way through the crowd to the center of the dance floor where Cid was now accompanied by Shiva. The icy minx was wearing a very suspicious smile that told Naruto that this whole fiasco was her doing. Cid welcomed him with a firm handshake before gesturing toward the crowd.

"Everyone, it is my honor to present Naruto Uzumaki, out first SeeD Guardian Enforcer, hand selected by Lady Shiva and Lord Quezacotl to represent the bond between Balamb Garden and the Guardian Forces of our proud island of Balamb!"

The entire Ballroom cheered and clapped, several SeeD whistled for him, and even more let loose militaristic hoots and hollers. Naruto shook hands with Cid once more before the two of them waved to the gathered crowd. Naruto leaned closer to Shiva and whispered through his gritting teeth, "This was your doing, wasn't it?"

Cid spoke up from his other side, "Actually it was mine, my dear boy. Come see me tomorrow first thing, the two of us have something to discuss."

Naruto sighed just knowing this shit would become a hassle. He felt a familiar chill run up his arm and he looked to see Shiva holding it snugly against her. She gave him a smile and a small wink that oddly got him blushing. Sighing again, a habit he hoped wasn't rubbing off on him from being near Leon; he conceded that it was inevitable he would find himself in this position. How the hell was he supposed to juggle all this shit…?

* * *

The Ball was a smashing success and Naruto knew from all the handshakes and greetings he received he would probably be sent on missions very soon. Shiva was a goddess of her word, never leaving his side for the rest of the evening. Eventually her magical power ran dry and the two of them would have to part ways. Instead of doing so at the Ball, Naruto took her away from the lively party on a quiet stroll back through the school toward the dorms. The two walked in complete silence, neither in any rush to part ways. Naruto threw a quick glance over toward her and smiled. She looked content, not a care in the world bothering her. He doubted it had anything to do with him, but a guy can hope right?

Once he had reached his dorm room he stopped outside the door, "I'm glad the two of us got to share this evening together. After all those damn handshakes, it was pretty fun."

Shiva smiled brilliantly, brushing a bit of her hair back over her ear, "I had a great time, Naruto. You danced divinely; I can't wait until we can dance again… maybe soon?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head feeling suddenly bashful again under her genuine praise and insinuation that she would like to spend more time together, "I'd love to, Shiva. I never got to dance for fun back home. I'll always remember tonight…"

Shiva seemed to find the sentiment pleasing as indicated by the light dusting of blue on her cheeks and the timid smile she wore. Naruto watched her playing with her hands a bit, finding them suddenly very interesting while occasionally glancing up at him. Naruto had the strangest feeling that she was expecting something… but he wasn't quite sure what. What would Jiraiya have… what would Kakashi have… fuck, what would his dad have done? If stories were true, his dad was a fucking idiot who had taken way too long to notice the signs his mother was giving him. Wait… was this one of those signs? Is that why Shiva hadn't said goodbye yet? Did she expect him to… to…?

Naruto gulped silently while eyeing the beauty in front of him. Deciding to throw caution to the breeze, he took a tentative step forward which caught her attention. The two looked into each other's eyes and hesitated. Then the both of them, as if on silent cue, leant forward slowly. Naruto let his eyes close as Shiva did hers, and the two could feel the warmth and chill the other radiated with. Shiva could smell the earthy, spicy scent that Naruto let off. Naruto could smell the freshness of powder snow on a mountain top. They were so close, so very close…

Naruto ended up leaning so far forward that he had to open his eyes as he lost his balance. Shiva had vanished when her magic projection had faded just as the two were a mere inch apart. Naruto leaned against the door of his room holding his chest as the adrenaline finally caught up with him.

' _Holy fucking shit, I almost kissed her…'_ He thought.

' _ **Kit, I cannot express to you how incredibly pleased I am to inform you that I, Kyu, the Great and Powerful Kyuubi no Kitsune, have only the greatest of blackmail to use on you until the day that you pass on.'**_

'… _I hate you.'_ Naruto banged his head on the door roughly.

Snickering filled his mind and he groaned, but then he heard something else. Looking back down the hall, he noticed Leon walking back toward the central area of the Garden. It seemed awful late for the guy to be out and about, but then again… no, Leon was many things but he was not the kind of guy to get to bed late the night before missions began. Something seemed fishy, and he was going to find out what was up. But first, he needed to ditch these fancy duds. He slipped into his dorm and then into his private room to change into the gear that Kyu and Shiva had given him nearly a month prior…

* * *

 **Cliffy for ya, hope that doesn't wrinkle your petticoats. If it does, you can always hop on Minecraft and get you some of that iron. Peace, love, and tacos you beautiful senpais.**

 **Due to overwhelming negative feedback, any chance of ninja teams crossing over to find their little buddy were demolished. I wasn't set on the idea, I put it out to the readers to see how people felt. If I had gotten a lot of positives, I would have seen about doing so. That being said, die hard fans of the Narutoverse won't be left without the bits of Konoha Chronicles segments now and then. People who don't want any of that are welcome to just skip over those sections!**

 **Chapter Question:**

 **To anyone who was against more Naruto crossing over into final fantasy, does that include concepts, or was that specifically about not wanting to see characters crossing over?**

 **To everyone, What do you think I have planned for that ritual circle? (not going to spoil it, just want to see what people are thinking)**


	9. Chapter 9

**The Lesser and Powerless Garnetio Solozari returns to shower the readers with a feast most fancy, and vittles most tender!**

 **More emotions, a friendship saved, and a bunch of crap that will most likely put you to sleep like it did my sister when she tried to read my work! Also, a little action thrown in for fun. Please enjoy!**

 **"Couple big mother truckers talkin this time so, yeah, this be what that looks like... duh."**

* * *

Naruto walked into the Training Center of Balamb Garden and yawned long and bored as his eyes scanned the area. Inside the training facility was a small climate controlled dome built to simulate a jungle. It was common knowledge that monsters tended to thrive in forests and jungles in the outside world, so Garden did their best to create an environment to keep several kinds of monsters for various forms of training. Naruto had spent some time here getting experience handling monsters, since he had only ever been trained to battle humans. True, Training Ground Forty Four had been inhabited by incredibly large beasts, but those had all just been very large versions of the animals one could find outside Konoha. Actual monsters capable of casting strange spells and using odd abilities were a completely different bowl of ramen.

Before going after mister stiff had wandered off, Naruto had gone into his room to change into his casual gear. It had been the first time he had worn the outfit that Kyu and Shiva had put together for him, and he was relieved to find it a perfect fit. On his torso he wore a long sleeve shirt with a specially made collar that could be pulled up over his chin to cover his lower face, but when left down resembled a turtle neck just below his Adam's apple. A black jacket with a hood and loose sleeves was worn over his shirt to provide extra storage space with several pockets sewn inside as well as plenty of room for his hidden Gunblades. The jacket was lined and accented with red trim and had the kanji for "nine" to honor his brother Kyu. A reinforced black leather belt held up a pair of comfortable black cargo pants that reminded him of his old jump suit, only without the god awful color. His ninja pouch and holster were strapped on as usual, thought he had spent some time dying his bandages dark to match the suit and help with blending into the shadows. And of course, his trusty ninja sandals were strapped to his feet to provide the ease of movement that he was so used to.

He checked his gear and zipped his jacket up to just below his chest before heading into the man made forest. His ninja senses were tingling like mad with all the odd sets of eyes staring at him. He and the monsters had come to an unspoken agreement: so long as no one attacked anyone else, no one had to bother anyone. Naruto had savagely beated several of their kind to near death, but he had never killed anything in the Training Center. He didn't see a point in it, even if they would have eaten him in a second. Besides, the other students had no problems keeping the population down without him senselessly killing innocent creatures for his own selfish gains. No… that shit wasn't really his style.

Naruto had just walked out from behind a rather large boulder when he caught sight of a familiar glint of silver to his left side. Looking around, he saw nothing but a strange fallen pole. It wasn't so much the fact that it was damaged or left unrepaired, so much as it was completely clear of moss and vines. Most of the debris left to simulate conditions on a battlefield had long since been overtaken by the natural elements in the facility. This… this had secret entrance written all over it. The ex-ninja hopped over a small barrier that separated the deeper areas of the fake jungle from the central pathway that surrounded the support column. Several angry growls informed him that he might want to reconsider his decision, but he waved it off and walked over to the structure. Sure enough, it was some kind of old bunker that had been built and eventually forgotten by the maintenance staff long enough for the moss to give it the illusion of being a very large rock.

"Clever, clever bastards… I bet there are a bunch of horny teenagers in there making kissy faces at each other… wish Shiva was here…" Naruto grumbled the last comment while his face blushed a little.

It didn't take long to find the actual entrance at the top of the ramp that gave away the entire operation. The door was very old and slid open and shut automatically, albeit like the creeping passage of time. When the entrance was clear, he slipped in and found the darkness inside to be rather thick, though there was a light at the end of the hall. Assuming that to be the meeting place Naruto walked casually down the hall admiring the many forms of graffiti that he could barely make out in the dark. He wondered how many SeeD had been here, how many had never returned…

As fate would have it, the room at the end of the hall was indeed the meeting place of Balamb Garden's rule breaking teens. The room opened up into the Training Ground with a perfect view of the main building in the distance. Naruto thought the whole thing was very cliché for a romantic hideaway, but things were only cliché because they worked so well! The Hokage Monument back home was similar to this, in that many young couples would hide up there away from the eyes of their families to engage in… private affairs. He had spent time there as well, though he had always been alone and seeking a place to be away from the villagers and their angry glares. Thinking about the past put a sour taste in his mouth, and he soon shook off the lingering desire to admire the room. Instead, he focused on his target, and found the guy standing by a rail leaning on it… with Quistis Trepe by his side!

Naruto leaned on the wall nearby, deciding to see how this whole thing played out…

* * *

Leon was a very quiet young man who very rarely engaged in socializing with others his own age. With that being said, he couldn't fathom how he ended up here of all places. It was odd to think that the young students would go through the trouble of fighting their way through scores of monsters just to hug each other... among other things. Yet here they were, three couples by his initial count, smooching so loudly that he could hear them across the room. It was utterly embarrassing and he really wanted to be back in his own room asleep right then. The problem was, Quistis Trepe, his now ex-instructor had insisted he meet her there. He wouldn't have come, but she was several years his senior within SeeD and he was simply too much of an idiot to not follow an order.

The blonde beauty was standing to his left quietly looking toward the Garden main building. For a woman who had been so dedicated to her work, she was a very pretty person. Leon wasn't the kind of guy to run after a pretty face, not like Seifer who often spouted about finding 'the one' during their duels. If his life required such companionship, Garden would assign him someone. He was only vaguely aware of people having interest in others because of the spectacle Naruto had put on back at the Ball, but that didn't mean the idiot had truly left a lasting impression on him. And what the hell would Naruto know about this sort of thing? The guy was fawning all over a GF, a magical projection of an entity of pure energy.

Leon was surrounded by such strange people…

"You know, this view is just amazing. I first saw this a few years back, but at that time I couldn't really appreciate it. What do you think?" Quistis inquired casually, a soft smile on her lips.

Leon stared up at the image of the Garden with all the lights shining up the walls from lamps recessed in balcony floors and the Quad below. In truth, he would be drawing this scene later from memory, but it was just another thing to calm his mind after training, nothing more.

"Why are we here? Shouldn't I be in my bunk getting some rest?" Leon asked with an annoyed tone.

Quistis was used to his lashing out at what he assumed was pointless dithering, "I just needed someone to talk to. I haven't been doing my best work lately, and it shows in the small number of students who passed under my care."

Leon was quiet as he turned his gaze to the right, eyeing a particularly out of place flower that had grown out of a vine. It was such a small flower, but it was pretty. If only he were alone, instead of here listening to Quistis chatter away. God, this woman annoyed him to no end when she tried to keep his attention. Leon had a great deal of respect for her reputation on the battlefield, but he wasn't a people person, no matter the people. He glanced back toward her and realized that had been a mistake when she took that as a sign to continue.

"I've decided to give up my position as an instructor. For the last month I felt energized and eager to teach. A… a friend helped me understand what being a teacher really meant to the students. I wanted to be the person they could trust and look up to, someone to guide them to become great. I just… don't have the knack for it. I gave the headmaster my papers this afternoon after the test results were completed." Quistis played with one of the straps on her arm guards while she spoke, her cheeks going red as she talked about her personal affairs with someone she wanted to be closer to.

Leon wasn't really paying attention to her anymore, his eyes drooping a little as boredom set in. This woman was droning on about this kind of shit at this late hour… and for what? Did she think he gave a crap about her career? What she chose to do was her choice and it wouldn't affect anyone other than her, and it especially wouldn't have much to do with his life. As far as he was concerned, she might as well be telling him about her favorite color for all the good this would do him. Quistis hadn't noticed his lack of interest as she was too busy fighting her nerves while pouring her heart out to Leon.

"I've decided… that starting tomorrow, I will return to active duty in the field. I want a fresh start and Headmaster Cid agrees this is the best for me. Tomorrow, I will be a SeeD Agent again, and that means that the two of us may… may end up going on missions… together…" Quistis trailed off as she looked at Lean who had his back to her.

Leon had turned to the right to face the wall and occupy himself with staying awake. Whatever she was saying was way to personal for him to want to hear, even if he did hear every word. Better to listen to her than to listen to the noisy couples nearby after all. He was slightly startled by her raised voice behind him. Turning, he saw her face had turned red, but this was by no means a blush. Quistis looked angry and frustrated, and her clenched fists spoke volumes about her intentions to throttle him for being such a jerk. Leon just huffed and spoke in a grumpy tone, "What?"

"I just told you I would be SeeD with you and the others, and you completely ignored me!" She was trying not to yell.

Leon unfolded his arms and rested one on his right hip, "So?"

"What do you mean so?" Quistis took a small step back as she gasped and all her anger drained out of her.

Leon turned toward the door and closed his eyes, "What does any of that matter to me? Why would I care if you quit your job and took another? Just do it and get it done, right? All this talking is pointless. If you really need someone to listen, why not go talk to a wall or something? Because frankly, Miss Trepe, I don't give a damn."

Quistis was about ready to fall apart, but then she perked up a little when she heard a familiar voice that she hadn't heard speak to her in a while, "Damn, darky, that was one fucking cold speech right there. Maybe I ought to start calling you teme from now on?"

Leon looked irritated as he turned to face Naruto. He took in his new look with narrowed, calculating eyes before responding, "I should stab you for teaching that nickname to Seifer, but I won't… for now. Why are you even here?"

"It is always a pleasure to see you too, my sweet angel, but on a serious note I followed your ass here. It didn't make sense for you to be out after your bed time so I got worried. Turns out you were out trolling and being a dick, which sadly wasn't a surprise." Naruto put his hands in his pockets as he yawned again, cursing under his breath at the unwelcome body function.

Quistis was watching their conversation from behind Leon. When she heard the comment about not being surprised she remembred back to their conversation in the Infirmary. Her eyes fell to the floor as her heart sank. She had poured her heart out to Leon and been struck down by his uncaring and cold attitude towards life. He didn't see her as a person, he didn't see her as a part of his life… he just didn't see her. Naruto had tried to warn her about chasing after someone who refused to see you… and then she struck him for trying to protect her from the painful emptiness she felt now.

"I'd ask you to apologize to Quistis-senpai, but you're so self-centered that I doubt you would even be able to understand what you did wrong. Didn't we have a talk about showing interest in others? Remember the talk about hobbies? I had hoped you would at least think about it, man." Naruto sighed at the end, shaking his head in disappointment.

Leon scoffed lightly, "Unless it has something to do with my job, I couldn't care less."

"God damn you are so… fucking dense that you aren't even paying attention. Yes, this is a lot about her personal choices and her feelings and those are icky to small minded men. However, if you were listening closely enough, she was telling you that she would be going back into SeeD field work. She is one of us now. It wouldn't kill you to be a bit friendlier and open with your fellow SeeD. One day one of us will be all that comes between your scrawny ass and an untimely death. The sooner you start to care about others, the better." Naruto walked up to Leon and got right into his face.

The two young men stared at each other for a long while as the tension thickened. Quistis watched on, feeling rather out of sorts. Leon's harsh words had muddied the waters between the two of them, and the veil she had worn had lifted. What Naruto had told her before was true… she had been foolish to pursue Leon. Her blindness had cost her precious time she could have been thinking about her responsibilities. So what if Leon didn't care about her feelings? She cared about her feelings, and so did Headmaster Cid, and her friend Xu… and Naruto had cared too. She took a deep breath, and then she released. Like smoke in her lungs, the bad feelings rushed out of her and she was left feeling… content. It would take her time to get back to her old self, that was for sure, but she wouldn't be some lost puppy following behind someone who didn't care… She was Quistis Trepe, newly reinstated SeeD Agent of Balamb Garden for crying out loud.

She stepped between the two young men and pushed them both back a step. Turning to Leon, she gave a glare unlike anything she had ever given anyone back in class, "I think we have all had a long night. Report to bed, both of you. Tomorrow is a new day."

' _Finally…'_ Naruto thought smiling inwardly.

Leon grunted and crossed his arms before sighing. He didn't want to deal with any of this crap now anyway. Giving his affirmative to Quistis, he walked off toward the hall leading to the exit. When Quistis turned toward Naruto she was disappointed to see him already gone down the hall. She had hoped to apologize to him right there while she still had the nerve, but it wasn't meant to be. Breathing a sigh and giving the faraway image of the Garden one last glance, she turned and followed the two young men back to the exit. Naruto was by the door as it finally finished opening. He took a cautious look around for any monsters waiting to ambush, and then gave the all clear signal before hopping down to the guard rail between the thicker jungle and the main walkway.

* * *

Once all three of them had left the more dangerous area of the Training Center, they walked in silence. Quistis thought it strange to be around Naruto when he wasn't talking his mouth off about this or that. Then again, he was probably still bothered by their last meeting, so why would he want to speak to her about anything? She shook those self piteous ideas from her skull and focused on the now, and planned to confront him later on specifically to settle the bad blood between them. Naruto had tried to be a good friend and she had been a fool, so it was up to her to patch things up. As she was thinking she wasn't watching where she was going and walked directly into Naruto's back. Dazed, she took a moment to appreciate the small wave of his scent that rushed at her. It was spicy, strange enough as that sounded, and earthy too? She would have to ask what he was wearing when the two of them were back to normal.

Naruto held up a hand to indicate they needed to stop, and suddenly it was all business. Leon looked around slowly to scan the area while Quistis prepared her magic for a quick cast of Blizzard in case they needed a distraction. Suddenly a feminine scream filled the air, and the three of then dashed off toward the sound to give aid.

Naruto leapt up onto a tall rock and crouched down to maintain balance while taking in the situation. Caught on the wrong side of a barrier fence was a young woman in a sleeveless blue shirt and white skirt. She was unfit for battle and was clearly not versed in the use of offensive magic either. She was surrounded by three large, hulking monsters that looked tough and slow, and flying circles around them all was the biggest fucking wasp he had ever seen before. Knowing Leon and Quistis were stuck navigating the rocks below, he quickly cast Scan to get more information for them as they moved. The big bad bug was something called a Granaldo, while his minions were named Raldos.

"One unarmed civilian, four hostiles… Three ground, one air… non-elemental dead ahead!" Naruto cried out to his companions while moving quickly from rock to rock hopping with his chakra… well magic. Man he needed to start thinking like a Gaian.

The flier, the creepy wasp monster Granaldo, flew down to grab one of his Raldos buddies and hurled the creature at the girl. To her credit, she didn't scream, but she hardly had time to run or dodge either. Naruto cursed loudly while trying to think of a way to intercept the big bastard. Spotting a low hanging branch dangling above the unnamed girl, he thought quickly before removing a kunai from his holster. In the blink of an eye, he had infused a small bit of magic into the blade and chucked it toward the tree. Thankfully his throw was quicker than gravity, because the flying knife would reach his target just in time. Naruto executed a midair front flip just as he performed a replacement with the kunai. Appearing just below the branch, he used the aged wood limb to leap down. The added force let him intercept the falling Raldos with an earth shattering aerial axe kick.

Leon and Quistis rounded the last rock to enter the battle area, only to have to dodge to the side quickly to avoid the Raldos who crashed into the ground. Recovering quickly, both leapt and rolled toward the young woman who eyed both of them in shock. Leon took up the middle position of their formation with his sword at the ready, revolver spinning to lock in a round. Quistis took the back position, whip coiled in her right hand and her left hand held ready for casting. Naruto landed in a crouch taking up the front line position. Cracking his neck, he glanced back at Quistis until their eyes met.

"You lead; we need a game plan now. My Scan turned up jack shit on these things." He turned his eyes back to the Raldos on the ground who seemed to be waiting patiently for something.

Leon eyed the troublesome Granaldo and considered having Naruto call a GF for a quick take down, but then he remembered the girl behind them. Use of such force is never viable while civilians could get caught in the crossfire. They would have to bring the bastard down, or rely on magic. Either way, he wouldn't move until they had some kind of strategy.

Quistis looked at Naruto in surprise. His tone was so serious that if she were a lesser woman, she may have swooned. Thankfully, this was Quistis Trepe, the old and respectable Quistis Trepe, and the time to prove it was now, "Physical attacks are the way to go here on the Raldos. I have fought them before, they are about as sharp as spoons and only half as brave. They obey a hive mind, in this case the Granaldo up there. Don't touch the flier until those big ones down here are gone, or the sudden loss of their queen will send them into a berserker rage."

Naruto slipped on his fingerless gloves that he had forgotten put back on after the Ball earlier in his rush and then slipped a piece of paper into his left glove, "Okay, when the time comes I will bring the big one down. Just give me a signal."

"Got it, I will keep them away from her, you two do what you can to eliminate those Raldos. Remember, they normally won't attack, but keep an eye out anyway just in case. They can still hit pretty hard." Quistis ordered while cracking her whip to ready for any attacks.

Naruto and Leon nodded to each other before rushing forward toward the three bumbling monsters on the ground. Naruto dashed to the Raldos furthest to the back and leap up for another axe kick. The hit was good, but it felt like he had just tried to kick a damn tank. His attack brought the monster to readiness and it chaged toward him for a harsh tackle. Naruto used magic to cling to the ground with his feet and to reinforce his arms. When the Raldos smashed into him, he knew he would never want to be hit by one of those cars they rode in to the SeeD exam boats. Not one to waste time complaining, Naruto used the monster's own momentum to throw him over his shoulders towards the cluster of rocks they had been navigating to get to the area. The rock crumbled into hundreds of shards, but Naruto was dismayed to see the beast relatively unharmed. Watching closely, he noticed a faint glow that flickered like a screen, and then something dawned on him.

Meanwhile, Leon was facing off against the other two Raldos alone, and absolutely regretting his decision. The damn things were nigh impossible to cut with his blade. None of his power swings or swift stabs put a dent in them. Thankfully the things were slow as glaciers so he had only received the barest of hits. Didn't mean they didn't hurt like the devils nails digging your back. A loud buzzing told him that the Granaldo was swooping in toward him. A dodge roll to the side put him out of harms way, but he realized too late that he wasn't the target. The bastard snatched up one of his lap dogs and hurled it toward the young woman and Quistis. Cursing his poor judgement, he readied to cast a spell to intercept the monster only to stop midway and blink in surprise.

Quistis had been watching over their temporary charge while focusing her magic. Her eyes darted left and right rapidly, analyzing every moment of the battle. In the environment they were in it wouldn't do for them to stick too close together, so she was in no rush to get in either of the young men's way. The Granaldo above buzzed angrily while watching his minions get kicked around, and soon took action. Quistis saw the snatch and grab, and the subsequent throw. The Raldos rolled into a ball and looked almost like a boulder rumbling toward her. Quistis smirked, and then her hand glowed blue as she called on her most powerful form of magic.

As the Raldos rolled forward the simple minded monster couldn't help a great sense of victory. Yeah, those puny humans were quick, and Granaldo was screaming constantly for them to do something besides stand around, but hey, now he was on a roll. Hah, that sounded funny, but he couldn't be sure, damned if he understood the concept of humor. It was during that moment of existential exploration that the monster came to a swift and untimely discovery: he had stopped rolling and there were no human remains all over the place! In fact, the humans he was going to crush, the ones that smelled nicer than the other two, were still a few feet away. One of them had released some soft of… loud screeching that shot huge blue energy waves toward him.

Quistis cut off the flow of blue magic after the monster stopped and prepared a second spell. Her eyes glowed brightly, and then two laser beams shot right out of her eye sockets. The Raldos stood up slowly and rubbed his head rather dumbly… right before he was cut clean in half by two high intensity beams that sliced right through his protective skin. Quistis saw the Shell spell burst as her magic tore through the thing like tissue paper. When her spell ended she blinked away the tears and called out loudly toward her team.

"Raldos are using ambient defensive magic to strengthen their hides. Perform Draw to extract as much of their defensive magic essence as possible!"

Naruto by that time had already come to the same conclusion, though he only knew it was something magical. Hell if he knew what the rest of that jargon meant, at least he knew what to do to level the playing field. His Raldos rushed toward him again hoping to shoulder charge the blonde human. Naruto wasn't dumb enough to fuck with the juggernaut again, and quickly performed the most eloquent and well respected of ninja dodging techniques: Leap Toad-no-Jutsu! As his palms met with the head of the beast, he took that moment to pulse his magic into the dumb fiend. At such close proximity he latched onto the magic in his opponent instantly and Drew as much essence as he could, though it was only enough to break the Protect barrier the beast unwittingly wore.

"Leon, batter up buddy!" Naruto called out cheekily while delivering an upper cut to the Raldos as it turned around. When it was airborne, Naruto spun kicked the creature hard enough to send him flying right toward Leon.

Leon was ready for the combo even if he wasn't quite sure what the hell a batter was. He dodge rolled right into the path of the flying Raldos and readied his sword. As the hulking figure flew time slowed down. The revolver spun slowly at first but picked up speed as each cylinder burned with red flames. Just as time resumed, Leon swung his sword and fired off a heavy round right into the gut of the Raldos. The beast was severed in half a split second before flames erupted and sent the lifeless body sailing away, blood cauterized from the heated shot. Leon stood with his blade resting on his shoulder as he sighed and flicked dried blood off his jacket.

In his moment of victory, Leon had forgotten about the final Raldos that he had been fighting before. The ground rumbled beneath his feet and when he turned he was unprepared for the charging monster. In a flash, Naruto had rammed into the Raldos and sent him off course. He broke from the beast only for it to try and crush him with an overhead blow. Naruto sidestepped just in time before grabbing the thick head of the Raldos and flipping clean over top of it. During his forward fall back to earth, Naruto grunted and used his momentum to hurl the fucker clear over his head and into the air toward Quistis.

A chain whip wrapped around the neck of the Raldos and a swift tug brough him down hard. Using her whip to channel her magic, Quistis unleashed a storm of electricity through the metal and into the body of the beast. Naruto watched as the Raldos struggled and bravely fought the surge of magic, but Blue Magic didn't follow the same rules as normal essence. Whatever protection it might have had was gone within seconds leaving the Raldos to die in a heap of smoldering flesh and bones. Naruto whistled as he kicked the body for good measure.

"Fuck, remind me to avoid you during your monthly." Naruto quipped while readying some of his razor wire.

Quistis couldn't help the blush she wore, but she knew the battle wasn't over, so she shoved her embarrassment to the side. Granaldo was looking restless and panicked. Leon readied his blade while breathing deeply to try and calm his mind. Naruto simply stared at the big bug with a look of distaste. His razor wire wasn't going to reach the thing if it kept moving, so he put the threads away in his sleeve.

"Quistis, we need some way to bring that thing down. I can subdue it, and then Leon can deliver the finishing blow. Any ideas?" Naruto asked over his shoulder.

Quistis considered his request while thinking about her past battles with this kind of fiend. Its weakness was… something… And then she remembered with a bright smile, "Of couse, Granaldo is hyper sensitive to Sleep spells. I can bring it down, but it will wake the moment it is struck by the ground. Move fast."

Naruto gave a firm nod and readied the paper he had taken out earlier. Leon got into a ready stance and knew exactly what he would need to do in order to finish this quickly. Quistis focused her normal essence and gathered the status essence in her palm. The Sleep spell was a seldom used spell due to how often enemies resisted it or woke from falling over during combat. It was a great diversion tactic, but there was very little other use. Blindness was much better for most instances, but Granaldo were notorious for their sense of smell. Damn her stupid idea to wear perfume for the idiot swordsman to her side.

Naruto saw Quistis cast several area spells to try and catch the Granaldo as he flew in tight circles above. When Naruto saw it start to fall he dashed forward using magic to enhance his legs. Just as he reached the impact area the thing slammed into the ground and woke up instantly with a scream of anger. Naruto leapt on top of the beast and applied the paper tag to it's back. As soon as the seal was applied, Naruto leapt off Granaldo, and to Quistis and Leon it was as if he had used a stop spell. Leon then had an epiphany and spoke softly under his breath, "That other seal he mentioned…"

Quistis caught only the sound of Leon speaking before he dashed forward, sword almost glowing as he gained speed. Leon drew close and then unleashed a furious barrage of strikes on Granaldo. One, two, three, right up to twelve strikes slammed into Granaldo. Each strike was accompanied by a burst of fire and smoke that shook the area. Granaldo felt each hit break his carapace armor little by little until it shattered and blood pooled on the ground. Leon leapt back several meters for a running start as he charged again, only to strike with an upward swing of his mighty blade. Granaldo split in two clean halves before his body dissolved into black mist, his blood still soaking the damaged ground below.

"Damn, remind me not to piss you off on your monthly either, Leon." Naruto said while securing his equipment.

Leon palmed his face and groaned while Quistis walked over to make sure they weren't hurt. That was when several strange men in white uniforms rushed into the area to form a protective circle around the young woman they had just saved.

"And where the hell were you guys just now, huh? You realize we aren't a threat considering we just saved her, right?" Naruto asked while his eye twitched irritably.

Ignoring the blonde completely the strange guards ushered the young woman out of the Training Center quickly while she kept glancing back toward Leon and Quistis. Naruto realized at that moment he was the cosmic third wheel here and he decided to just leave. While walking away he felt a hand take his arm firmly. He turned to see Quistis standing there holding him from leaving. She looked down a little while under his scrutiny, but he said nothing. It was clear that she was struggling with something, so he would wait for her to get her thoughts together. He wouldn't have to wait very long.

"Naruto, I wanted to speak to you a moment. I know now is probably not the time, but can we?" Quistis' voice was soft and timid, but he could tell she was serious about this.

"Yeah, but let's get the hell out of here before we have to save someone else. Seriously, how the hell could those guys have just showed up exactly when the threat was gone? Suspicious bastards…" Naruto grumbled before heading towards the main entrance.

Leon watched them leave before he strapped his sword to his belt. That girl had looked at him with such longing. Just who the hell was she… and why had she been at the Infirmary that day before Quistis showed up? And… just exactly where were those fucking guards when the girl was in danger? Damn that Naruto… he was rubbing his paranoid attitude off on him…

* * *

Naruto and Quistis had stopped on their way back to the dorms in the open air hall connecting the two buildings. Naruto was leaning back on one of the half walls that acted as a window allowing for a nice view of the grounds outside. To his left was Quistis leaning forward with her arms crossed on the ledge of the window. Neither had spoken a word as they enjoyed the silence. Quistis shot occasional glances at Naruto to make sure he hadn't fallen asleep, but she always saw that same pensive look on his face. It was an odd contrast to the smiles and jokes he often used over the past month, and she could only blame herself for the distance between them. Sighing, she gathered her courage to do the hardest thing known to man: apologize.

"Naruto, I wanted to say that… I see that you were right the last time the two of us spoke. You warned me and I… I just couldn't see the truth at the time. I have my reasons for how I acted, but they aren't an excuse for how I behaved that day…"

Naruto looked at her, really looked at her, for the first time in nearly two days and spoke softly and soothingly, "Quistis, help me understand more about you and why you did what you did. Talk to me, and I'll listen."

Quistis didn't know whether or not to trust him, not after her experience with Leon back in the Training Center. Who was to say that he wouldn't just shut her down like Leon had? Then she remembered how Naruto had come to her defense when Leon acted harshly toward her, even though she knew he had been upset with her. Naruto wasn't Leon. Naruto was Naruto, the young man who had taught her the greatest lesson about who she had been and helped her come to grips with where she belonged, whether he knew it or not. She could trust him to listen.

"I am… I am an orphan. I have no recollection of my family or a life before Balamb. Use of Guardian Forces has many benefits for the body and the magical core of each person who Junctions them. The drawback of their use is that the mind must submit itself to heavy physiological changes both chemical and physical. The chemical releases that occur during stimuli change dramatically so that we can better respond to high pressure situations. Physically, our brain functions are activated in sections that would normally be untouched. It is the combination of chemicals mixing and the shifting pulses of current through normally inactive portions of our brains that cause damage to the limbic system, which results in memory loss. It is usually a one time occurrence that is triggered over a series of three to five years of having active contact with Guardian Forces.

We call it a blessing because without their approval we cannot Junction them, however… They say that there is no such thing as free, and they would be right. Perhaps I knew my parents in another time, perhaps they are even still alive somewhere, but I can never know for sure. The memory loss is permanent. Because of this, I grew up here and all I know is SeeD. I trained harder than most, learned everything they could teach me from battle strategy to language arts. I was eligible to take the exams early, and I passed with flying colors. After that I knew nothing but the job. I was a mercenary and that was it. I had no friends, no bonds to keep me from becoming a drone. Headmaster Cid saw me break down during a mission… it was an utter failure and my entire team… they were killed. At that point I had burned out and I was hardly capable to do my duty anymore. So I took up instructing to be here… Balamb is where I belong… it is all I know.

And who would end up in my class: Seifer Almasy and Squall Leonhart, the school's only Gunblade masters and first picks for SeeD. It was a lot of responsibility and both Cid and the Garden Faculty were watching me closely. Knowing I had to be the one to produce at least one Gunblade wielder for SeeD, I tried to focus my attention on them rather than the whole class. At first I tried to pull Seifer above and beyond. He had the right stuff: strength, skill, charisma, and a great understanding of magic in combat. What he lacked was respect and patience. He had no respect for me because of my age, and he called me out for my favoritism on several occasions. Eventually he skipped my lectures altogether and whatever bond we could have formed was lost.

With only one candidate left, I turned my eyes on Squall. He was… everything Seifer wasn't. Their skills were practically identical, but Squall had the patience to understand strategy and follow orders with flawless precision. But Squall is… rather, he isn't charismatic at all. He will issue orders to subordinates and expect their unquestionable loyalty. But, he will not connect with anyone… he is so set in his ways of individual skill being the only thing that counts. He respected me for a time, and he listened to me, and he reminded me so much of myself with his dauntless dedication to SeeD… I fell in love with him. At least… I thought I had. It was so naïve of me to think like that… he had given me nothing to love. I don't know a thing about him, not even his favorite food.

I realize now it was the attention he paid to me and his respect for me that I craved. I thrived on it because I wanted him to see me because he was so much like me. I was under the illusion that he was the other half to me, the one person who I could fit with perfectly. And then you came into my life. A month ago when Cid brought you to my classroom to add you to the roster I was shocked. You had to be a special case considering your age and that Cid had brought you personally to me only made that feeling stronger. Unlike everyone else in class, you gave me respect and attention without a second thought. You trusted me, and it made me happy… I just couldn't see past my own pursuits to acknowledge it. And then, without needing any reason, without asking anything in return, you tried to help me. In my distress I mistook your intention and I… I…

Naruto, I am sorry. I am so, so sorry. I can't even begin to express how sorry I am for being so stupid and hurting you. If you spent the rest of your life never speaking to me again, it would be all right so long as you just tell me that you heard me say that I am sorry. Throw the words away, burn them from your memory, whatever you like… just know that I said them from the bottom of my heart."

Quistis was strong through her entire speech and never let a tear stain her cheeks or a sob interrupt her. She was no weak, emotional little girl. She was a woman, a tough woman. That said, the burning passion in her eyes and the way she spoke with such conviction were enough to persuade anyone of her sincerity. Naruto was quiet for a time, just analyzing her with his eyes slowly, never letting his own blink as if he were trying to keep from missing a single moment between them. Just as Quistis began to waver and doubt, he spoke.

"I understand Quistis, and I accept your apology." Naruto said quietly, and knowing exactly what would happen, he opened his arms.

Quistis, as if on cue, threw herself into Naruto who closed his arms around the slightly shorter blonde. She didn't wail or sob or throw a fit like any girl he had ever comforted before. No, Quistis Trepe was a woman who demanded respect, and as her tears soaked into his jacket, she never made a sound. Naruto could feel the smallest of quakes that shook the woman, but other than that she held herself well. His comforting arms and warm chest soothed Quistis as she let loose emotions that she had honestly never felt before. She had never cried, not even when her team had been killed in that incident two years before. The simple act of being forgiven by a friend had woken up something in her, or rather someone in her. It was not the SeeD Quistis, but the young woman Quistis who had never truly lived before. It figured she would have to awaken to this, but being alive felt… good.

Naruto soon moved his hands to her shoulders to gently pry her off his chest. She pouted a little at the loss of warmth, but she knew it was unbecoming to pout and quickly recovered. Wiping her eyes clean, she acknowledged how much better she felt thanks to having let loose her pent up emotions. Naruto could sense that she had calmed down, and flashed a bright smile.

"There, you look much better, Quistis-chan." Naruto fixed her hair a bit which made her blush.

She laughed a little before rolling her eyes, "Stop joking around, no one looks good when they cry like a baby."

"I see no baby here, I see my friend standing tall with a huge weight falling off her shoulders. That was a very interesting story, Quistis. I had no idea how many people here were orphans. I feel like I was meant to be here rather than back where I came from. I can understand wanting to feel like I belong, even if it is only with a single person. The difference between you and me is that I had no one… well, I had one, but he wasn't much into sharing emotions and affection for a long time. You have an entire Garden full of people who would love to be there for you, and you have me too." Naruto finished fixing her hair and flashed her with a playful grin.

Quistis' mood seemed to lift dramatically, and she gave him a warm smile. It was the same angelic smile she had given him on that first day they met, only this one felt real.

"Thank you Naruto, I will remember that as long as you remember that you have me too. I promise that you can trust me from now on, and I will never betray that trust. That's the promise of a lifetime." Quistis smile turned mischievous the moment Naruto balked.

"Hey now, that's my line you cheeky vixen!" Naruto faked a dramatic showing of fury.

Quistis giggled lightly, "Too bad, now let's call it a night. Tomorrow you better be up early enough to meet with the headmaster, he mentioned a meeting with you when he set up the meeting for the others."

Naruto nodded before yawning and stretching, "Hai, hai, right away, sir."

Quistis smacked his arm before heading off toward her quarters, Naruto watched her go before heading back to the dorm he shared with Seifer. The halls were so quiet with everyone in bed, so peaceful… until he rounded the corner to his hall. He stopped mid step and eyed the scene with a twitching eye brow. Standing in the hall were Zell, Seifer, and Selphie facing off against five Garden Faculty members. When Zell saw him he eyed his new gear with an approving grin, but quickly became all business again as he waved him over.

"Bro, bout time you got here! These guys were trying to steal your stuff!" Zell called out, causing the other two to notice him and both looked particularly relieved.

Seifer was the next to speak up, "They were breaking into your security locker. I discovered the bastards in your room when I got up to check if you had come back yet. Claimed they were moving your things, but they didn't have your security code."

"And it is against regulations for any staff member to access any security lockers unless a SeeD has been pronounced KIA, MIA, or been forcefully removed from Garden!" Added Selphie while eyeing the faculty members and their weird masks.

Naruto only sighed in frustration, "Fuck my life, when will this night just end?"

The Garden Faculty members each exchanged quick glances before their spokesman caught their attention with a monotone voice that echoed with condescension, "SeeD Uzumaki, now that you are here we may proceed with your transfer to your new private quarters. It would seem we were… premature in our attempts to aid in the relocation of your possessions. Leave nothing behind and take everything you own to your new room, SQ-09."

Naruto watched the five faculty pricks walk off down the hall and around the corner out of sight. He could sense their ill intent lingering in the air, but it was a pitiful thing to behold. Turning back to his friends he couldn't help the smile. Zell and Selphie he understood helping out and protecting his things. Seifer was the surprise. Walking over to them all he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and laughed a bit, "You guys are awesome, thank you so much for doing that!"

"No worries bro, I told you I had your back." Zell stuck his thumb up and winked.

Selphie nodded and then yawned, "You're welcome Naruto, but I can't hang out any longer. Gotta get my beauty sleep. Night boys!"

Naruto waved and then turned to Seifer who had his arms crossed, "You were checking on me?"

Seifer turned his head to the side huffing, "Whatever, Uzumaki, I just don't like those guys. They are always interfering with my work on the Disciplinary Squad. This was more for myself than you, so don't get a big head, loser."

Naruto grinned, "I wouldn't dream of it. Thank you for your accidental assistance in the protection of my privacy."

"Yeah well, if it hadn't been accidental… then I would probably say that you were welcome. As it is, you can forget it." Seifer smirked a little when he turned to face Naruto again.

The two shared a quick fist bump before Naruto did the same with Zell and the three blondes laughed, though Seifer did an excellent job of hiding his jovial attitude. Zell stood to the side assuring Naruto he would wait to show him the way to the SQ halls. Seifer and Naruto went back inside and remained silent while Naruto put all of his things into a duffle bag he had been provided by the Garden. Naruto made sure to clean out his security locker, as well as remove the traps he had set, and then cleaned out his closet.

"Uzumaki… it wasn't terrible having you as a roommate." Seifer said rather suddenly while leanig on the table in the common room.

Naruto swung his bag of clothes and secret storage scrolls onto his shoulder and walked out to look at Seifer, "It _was_ pretty cool to have a roommate for a while. Whenever I am back at Garden and off missions, it wouldn't be awful if you swung by from time to time. The whole posse is always welcome at my door, you know, if you are looking for someone to try and get sent to detention."

"Lets cut the coy crap, Uzumaki… Naruto. You were the first guy they stuck in here that wasn't a complete waste of space. You can bet that even if I wasn't interested in your offer, which I am, then Fujin and Raijin would end up talking me into coming by anyway. Don't get comfortable though, you'll be having a new neighbor by the time the next exams are over, maybe three if I can talk those two lazy bums into signing up for it with me." Seifer was speaking with absolutely no arrogance or sarcasm for the first time Naruto could remember the entire month the two of them had been roommates.

Naruto walked over to his fellow blonde and offered his hand. It was well received and the two shook firmly. Seifer didn't really want him to go, but he also didn't want to hold back his friend. He had held back Fujin and Raijin for too long all ready. No, this was for the best and it would just make him work that much harder to earn his place with his new friend that much quicker. When the two finally let go, Naruto smirked and then left the dorm for the last time. Seifer was confused with the smirk until he looked down at his hand.

* * *

Naruto looked around his new dorm room and felt a sense of nostalgia. It was only slightly bigger than his old apartment in Konoha, though it made up for it with working furniture and appliances. There was a full size bed pushed up against the back corner with a desk opposite the bed, complete with a lamp and small computer terminal. Shelves lined the walls for decorations and mementos, and a tall book case sat against the wall next to the large closet. A door to the left of the main door led into a half bathroom. Finally, in the center of the front of the room was a table with three chairs. On the center of the table was a wicker basket full of various fruits with a small congratulations greeting card tied to the handle.

Naruto walked over to the table and took the card. It was nothing special, but it did bring a smile to his face. Snatching an apple from the basket he walked over to the bathroom to unpack his toiletries and then stopped to stare at his reflection in the mirror. He looked at his face, so much more mature and angular like his father's, and yet those eyes were undeniably his mother's. He wondered if the two of them would be proud of him, but he shrugged the idea off as irrelevant since he was a long way away from the life they had left him to. With the last of his bathing stock put away in their proper places he left back to the main room with a freshly washed apple stuck in his mouth like a suckling pig.

The closet was the next stop for him. He put away his old uniform as well as his new fancy uniform before putting his spare street clothes away. He had stocked up on t-shirts and jeans for casual walks into town or non-violent vacations. Zell had laughed at the term, but Selphie had commended him on his forethought and went out to do her own shopping a day or two after. With his clothes away he had one last stop before he could turn in. Looking around the room thoroughly, he finally found his new security locker near the end of his bed, close to the floor. Finding the same locking mechanism, he locked in the same code and quickly put his scrolls away.

Naruto tossed his now empty bag under his new bed with all the grace of a novice bowler before nearly diving into his bed. He didn't bother removing all his gear because he was too damn tired to deal with all the unwrapping and unzipping and fasteners and the…

Naruto fell asleep listing all of the things he had no fucks to give about.

 **Konoha Chronicles**

T'was night in fair Konoha, and all through the streets, not a ninja was stalking, nor civilians a-talking. The prisoners were secured in Interrogation with care, while Ibiki and Anko promised soon to be there. The academy students were nestled all snug in their beds, whilst visions of jutsu danced in their heads. And you readers out there, and my sweet derriere, had just settled down after fan fiction flair.

When on the Hokage Monument there arose hardly a clatter, that only our third party could even know there was something the matter! Together we read on with passion and vigor, with our screens of various sizes, some small and some bigger. From nothingness arose a portal of darkness, from which walked a woman in black dress.

She wore a long shroud that fell well beyond her knees, and with a deadly sword at her side that was obviously Shinigami's. The goddess of death was clever and quick, her devious mind full of plots and tricks. This village had spent far too long without struggle, and as Kami as her witness they would endure terror and trouble.

With a wave of her hand a circle of light shimmered, the entire monument then shook and the faces quivered. With a burst of magic that Konoha would never know, a symbol with runes and glyphs began to show. The circle had marked that small patch of land, just like it had the beach in the sand. Shinigami marveled at her work, and a smirk she would wear had begun to quirk.

" **These people have warred and won and warred again, and nary have they ever tried to give reason or explain. I tire of their troublesome activities, killing each other in teams of threes. Let's see how these people fair against nightmares, the kind that won't suffer from taunts and glares.** "

The ground shuddered and quaked and shook, and from the strange symbols a light overtook. When the light had died a great shadow had emerged… it was time for the Elemental Nations to finally be purged…

 **Meanwhile, in Gaia** …

Kyu sat on his bed in his cave on The Island Closest to Hell enjoying a meal of freshly cooked Malboro tentacles. His butler Jeeves had just left saying that he had to phone his cousin in Balamb Garden Training Center. Apparently some of their kin had gone missing around Hell, so he wanted to see if it was some sort of global phenomenon. It was common knowledge T-Rexaur were incredibly superstitious and believed whole heartedly in aliens. Jeeves even tried to convince Kyu that some of their kind had been abducted by UFO? Kyu quickly dismissed the matter after several copies of Occult Fan were found in Jeeves stash of bathroom reading material.

Kyu frowned as he breathed into his paw and sniffed, " **Gah, these give me Bad Breath** …"

* * *

 **Hope you all enjoyed the chapter, lots of nods and references to little things from FF8 for you fans to chuckle at near the end there. Now the purpose for the forgotten ritual circle has been revealed, and soon a new poll will be announced, probably next chapter. For the Quistis fans, remember that this Fic is not going to be a Harem, I am just developing relationships and feelings over time. No end game relationship doesn't mean they can't have some feels moments together!**

 **Question:**

 **To those who don't know, Seifer in this fiction has been the character most effected by Naruto's appearance in Gaia (OOC meter reads a level of… over 9000?!). How does everyone like the bromance?**


	10. Chapter 10

**Garnetio Solozari here with the next installment of UN:GE! But of fun in this chapter to counter balance the serious tones of the previous chapter. I had a lot of fun typing this up and again during the proofing. Hope you enjoy it.**

 **About Leon: I had a reader comment on the guy getting the short end of things, and I won't argue with that at all. I am here to explain to everyone that this is exactly how he is in canon. He is very cold and uncaring towards his team for a long time until a pretty young thing who takes no shit helps him connect with his sensitivities. Just keep reading to see how he develops as a person blossoming out of his crusty shell and into the fleshy and beautiful Leon people know and love from Kingdom Hearts, okay?**

" _ **I'm a big mother trucker talkin in yo big dome, son."**_

" **I'm a big mother trucker talkin all up in yo grill, pot-nuh"'**

' _This is me thinking about how I want those two to stop talking like that…'_

* * *

The door to the elevator dinged softly before opening to reveal a very sleepy Uzumaki Naruto. He held in one hand a hot cup of coffee, and in the other a take-away style bowl of ramen that he had grabbed on his way by the Cafeteria. Normally this wouldn't have been an appropriate breakfast, but the Kitchen staff had decided to treat the young man to an extra special 'first day on the job' meal. Had he not been drained from the long night before, he would have most certainly been late to his meeting with old man Cid due to a random bout of vitoritus dancitis. He had thanked them several times before leaving to attend the meeting, and made a b-line for the elevators before the lower grade students would be scrambling up and down the thing for classes.

Cid was seated behind his large desk sifting through mountains of paperwork. He loved the stuff, but there were a few that annoyed him to all hell. One specific document was thrown into a small incinerator built into the side of his desk, spewing flames as if he had tossed some foul creature of evil into the fiery pit. Grumbling about 'bastards downstairs,' he then noticed the young man walking in the door and smiled warmly. Naruto had noticed the little tantrum but decided to let it lie while he took a seat without being offered. Cracking open his breakfast he said a half-hearted prayer before digging in. Cid was a friendly guy, and this kind of behavior amused him rather than offended him, but the smell of the coffee made him crave a cup of his own.

"Wish you had two of those." Cid gestured to the foam cup setting on the edge of his desk.

Naruto finished sipping a small bit of broth before swallowing a chunk of egg, "Sorry old man, I am going to need all the caffeine I can get if I am going to stand up on my own feet today."

"Its fine, I will get my own soon enough. For now, I wanted to talk to you about your position, as well give you a special item that goes along with it." Cid replied good naturedly.

"Right, this title you announced last night. Guardian Enforcer has a very nice cinematic feel, but I don't really understand what its about. Shiva was a bit… preoccupied last night after the big reveal." Naruto placed his half finished ramen down in his lap to speak.

Cid's eyes sparkled a little, "Well my boy, you are now the representative between our SeeD cadets and Agents, and the Guardians themselves. Too many of our SeeD assume the Guardians are mere tools for our use in battle. They have forgotten the old stories, and never study the histories as they should. Shiva made it clear that you are aware of their divine status, and because of human ignorance many of them have abandoned us. It is the work of the Sorceresses of old manipulating them and downplaying their significance to the world. To reconnect with these beings, we need someone of our own kind to listen and speak for them. There is where you come in. Besides your normal missions, you will be charged by order of Shiva and Quezacotl to find and reconnect with as many GFs as possible."

Naruto finished the last of the broth in his bowl while listening to Cid describe his responsibilities. When the old man had stopped speaking he set his bowl down and sighed contentedly, "Okay, I think I can do that easily enough. I should warn you though, there was something very strange going on back in Dollet. It involves this secret side mission of mine."

Cid wore a serious face that was completely out of place on the normally cheerful man. He motioned for Naruto to continue after he hit a button to seal the doors.

"There was a GF stuck inside of the monster that attacked the team at the Comms Tower. Unlike a normal Junction that is more spiritual than physical, this GF was actually sealed completely inside the beast and her magical essence was being eaten gradually over time. Had she not been a GF, she would have been consumed long ago, but they produce vast amounts of essence to sustain their existence here on the physical plain. I have only seen such magic in one place… back in my own world. It wasn't the same exactly, but there were so many similarities that it gives me the shimmy shakes. I have a bad feeling this sort of thing is going to become very common very soon, and my bad feelings are usually spot on."

Cid rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he eyed the wooden box behind his desk. A GF sealed inside a monster… where had he heard of such a thing? Of course! Naruto had spoken to him about having such a strong entity forcibly sealed away in his own body! But, how could such magic exist? And who would do such a thing? What would be the benefits of such a fusion? He looked up at Naruto who sat waiting for him to speak again, his coffee cup in hand.

Cid lifted the box up and placed it on his desk, "This may interest you, Naruto. You say this GF was sealed inside a monster… I wonder if such a thing could be done with an object… like this."

Naruto watched the old man open the wooden box to reveal pillow with red satin and golden braided trim. Setting on the center of the pillow was an old fashioned oil lamp straight out of some cheesy genie movie. The thing was a wicked black color and seemed to pulse with dark energy. Naruto went to touch it, but then thought better of it when he realized Cid was eyeing him warily.

"Ok, I'll bite, what the fuck is this thing?" Naruto asked gracefully.

Cid felt sweat trickle down his neck, "It's a cursed lamp. Research has turned up rumors that say a demon was trapped inside by a sorceress during the First Sorceress War years ago, but I have found documentation that it may have been made some time after that. I recommend you don't touch it… not yet, anyway. My colleague once gave it a rub and we never saw him again, sucked right into the lamp. It was the most bizarre thing I have ever seen, and I do not want the same fate to befall you, my boy."

A growling unlike the kind Naruto was used to hearing erupted in his mind, _**"That bastard is in there! I would recognize that putrid aura anywhere!"**_

' _Ifrit, is that you? What's going on in there, big guy?'_ Naruto lifted up his hand to motion Cid to wait a moment while he conversed with the fire demon.

Ifrit huffed angrily, _**"That thing has one of our brothers in it. His name is Diablos. He governs the element of gravity, and the two of us have never seen eye to eye…"**_

' _I feel like this is a trap…'_ Naruto looked at the lamp with narrowed eyes.

" _ **It pains me to say this… but we will have to set the bastard free. I do not know what will happen when you touch that thing. I would recommend you go with a team if possible."**_ Ifrit advised before letting the connection fade, probably to prepare for the confrontation.

"Is everything all right, Naruto?" Cid asked after sitting quietly for longer than he liked.

Naruto nodded and looked at the old man, "Your hunch was correct, there is definitely one of them in that thing. Might be a fight, so I think I will take it with me and open it up when I have back up."

"If you must, but I hope you know what you are doing my boy…"

* * *

After sealing the lamp away in one of his storage scrolls, much to the amazement of Cid, Naruto left the office to head down to the Cafeteria again. Arriving, he took a seat at his usual table near the back to relax and finish his still warm coffee. Counting down the minutes, he smiled when his buddy Zell burst in the doors right on time. He was panting and looking haggard, obviously the knucklehead had woken up late after the party the night before. When he caught sight of Naruto, he walked over and eyed him up and down.

"I never got the chance to mention it last night, but that outfit is pretty sick bro. But, what's up with the sandals? I figured you would switch over to sneakers or something." Zell said before kicking a chair around to sit backward.

Naruto eyed Zell in his very casual outfit. He wore a black vest with red décor down the zipper, black beater, baggy as hell jean shorts, and the loudest pair of red and black tennis shoes Naruto had ever seen. The clothes were deceptively armored underneath for added protection, and his shoes had hidden patched of steel reinforcement in their soles. His steel plated gauntlets were on his hands as usual. Naruto found the whole ensemble to be fitting for Zell, though he couldn't imagine fighting like that.

"Not all of us enjoy trapping our feet in those airless leather bags you call shoes, bro. Gotta let the puppies breath." Naruto took a deep breath dramatically sighing said breath out.

Zell rolled his eyes, "Whatever you say bro. How did the meeting this morning go?"

"Gah, that meeting was too early for my taste. And I got this damn trap thing to deal with. Actually… how about you and me go find Selphie? I am sure she would love to get a good look at this magical item Cid gave me." Naruto said and then grinned the same grin that promised hell for anyone involved.

"Uhh… look at the time, man! I gotta ru-FUCK, UNHAND ME YOU BASTARD! ALL I WANTED WAS A DAMN HOT DOOOOOOOOOG~"

Naruto had stood up and dragged Zell by the back of his collar out of the Cafeteria in search of Selphie Tilmitt, victim… he meant, his second best friend. As per the norm, the perky young lady was outside in the Quad, breakfast sitting to the side still wrapped in foil, desperately trying to get flyers made with several dozen prototypes spread across the unfinished stage. She never invited Naruto to help with the flyers because of the nature of the art she had planned for the event. So, imagine her embarrassment when Naruto suddenly appeared behind her as if from nowhere, his face a blank stare as his eyes moved from one picture of him looking like a fox, to another of him wearing some gaudy costume of a fox, complete with face paint to help bring out his natural whisker marks.

"…Do I want to know what you're doing with these?" He finally asked while she stood before him sweating up a monsoon.

Selphie drew a blank as she tried to speak, but eventually she spoke and her voice was unsure, "I…I am… really into… foxes?"

Zell, from his place on the ground where he had been dragged clear from the Cafeteria, whispered a desperate cry of, "R…run…"

Selphie couldn't hear his warnings as Naruto looked at the flyers, each one more embarrassing than the last, his blank stare never leaving his face. When next he eyed Sephie, his eyes narrowed, "Yeah… you're coming with me."

Naruto grabbed her over his shoulder and carried her away like a sack of potatoes while she kicked and hollered to be let down. Searching the halls, he knew of only two more people he would include in this… well three if only to see the look on the face of his next victim... err, his next good buddy. Searching for only about three minutes, he found him. Seifer Almasy was speaking with a Garden Faculty member in a heated debate over something. When Naruto came upon them, he heard only the tail end of it.

"You are to be punished severely for your unrestrained actions during the exam in Dollet. Six weeks of being restricted in your dorm will hopefully tame you." The Faculty member said while sneering behind his mask.

Seifer sucked his teeth as he crossed his arms, "This is outrageous… I can't believe you expect me to submit to… this... what he hell?"

Both of them looked over in shock at Naruto Uzumaki. The young blonde was dragging the almost corpse of the defeated Zell Dincht behind him, and carrying the submissive form of Selphie Tilmitt over his shoulder, the girl wearing a bored expression while he checked her nails. Naruto had the world's most bemused expression that either of them had ever seen before. The Faculty member felt a shiver run down his back and was forced to take a step back. Seifer merely tilted his head to the side while eyeing the posterior of the girl perked up on Naruto's shoulder. Cerulean blues narrowed and then a razor wire wrapped around Seifer in the blink of an eye.

Seifer screamed as he was dragged behind Naruto down the hall, Zell beside him still catatonic but able to whisper, "I know dude… I know…"

Quistis was having a great morning, considering how late she went to sleep the night before. Waking up bright and early, she went out for a run, something she never did after taking the Instructor position because of the early class schedule. After her run, she was able to take a long hot shower to relax her body without worrying about rushing to her next class lecture. With thoughts of her recently mended friendship and the promise of exciting field work soon to come, she had a breakfast of champions: an egg white bagel sandwich with baked hash browns. Body clean, spirits high, and coffee in hand, Quistis was ready for anything.

Imagine her surprise when she stood waiting for the elevator, only to see Naruto walking around the main walk way of the first floor with several of his fellow SeeD and one Cadet. The entire entourage was looking worse for wear, and one Zell Dincht seemed to be quietly speaking in tongues to channel some merciful God. Naruto glanced up at her and his face brightened up, though the grin he was wearing gave Quistis a terrible foreboding. From the bottom of the stairs leading to the elevator, he called out to her.

"Yo, Senpai, want to go on an adventure? We only have about an hour before these guys need to be on-call!" Naruto smiled up at her, but she was no fool, knowing he was trying to guile her… and it was working?

She blushed from the way he spoke and cleared her throat to get herself together, "Don't you mess with me, Naruto, I don't believe for a second that you are on any kind of adventure. Knowing your habits, this is nothing but trouble."

Naruto put on the puppy-dog eyes, "I thought I always had you…"

Silence filled the air, and a small tumbleweed skipped across the ground slowly behind Naruto and his friends. Selphie yawned lazily as she waited for this ridiculous nonsense to be over. Seifer stared angrily at the ceiling while ignoring Zell's quiet ramblings. Quistis stood with her hair casting dark shadows over her eyes. Finally, her voice broke the silence, and Naruto smiled brightly.

"I hate you right now."

"I love you too, senpai! Now come on, we need to find mister happy smiles so he doesn't miss out on some team bonding time!"

Seated at one of the study terminals reading a book on Guardian Force history, Leon felt a cold shiver run down his back. He slowly sat up, eyes staring straight ahead, a cold sweat soaking his forehead. In a swift motion, he turned around to eye the entrance to the Library. His eyes widened, and he ducked to dodge a hard iron weight attached to a long chain of light weight steel. Looking up again, he saw Naruto standing there with Quistis by his side. Selphie, Zell and Seifer were seated on the floor tied up with rope. Seifer was the only one of them still fighting anymore, but he even looked ready to give up. Naruto was the one holding the handle to the deadly chain whip while Quistis looked about ready to bash him over the head.

"I said not to aim for him, Naruto!" Quistis scolded softly, trying to obey the rules of the Library despite the fact that Naruto just smashed one of the desks to pieces.

Naruto grinned sheepishly while holding the handle toward her, "Sorry Quistis-chan, I think I got a little over eager there. I should leave the whip to the mistress."

Quistis fought back a blush while Zell perked up enough to laugh weakly, "That was dirty bro…"

Selphie woke from her boredom in time to drive the heel of her uniform boot right into Zell's calf harshly, "Pervert!"

While Zell howled in agony from the unrelenting strength of feminine fury, Naruto walked over to Leon who had recover and crossed his arms to eye the ex-ninja with narrowed eyes. When Naruto was in front of him he sighed and released the tension in his body enough to speak calmly, "Naruto... what the hell is this?"

Naruto struck a pose and pulled a microphone out of nowhere. A spotlight shone down over him while all other light went to dark. Leon eyed this with a twitching brow, wondering just how the hell Naruto was capable of such odd phenomenon. When Naruto spoke, his voice was far deeper than normal and had the kind of tone that announcers during movie trailers used to set the intense mood for action movies.

"In order to complete the mission he had been entrusted… one man would have to assemble a team. Only together as one can any of them hope to win the day. Danger... adventure… thrills… Team Maelstrom: Mission Improbable!"

For the second time that morning, all grew incredibly silent. And then the halls were filled with the echoing sound of palm slapping face.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later found the entire team of Rookies, the exam failure, the ex instructor, and one insane blonde standing together in the Quad. Naruto had them all lined up while he paced back and forth in front of them. His calculating eye was measuring each of them up one after the other, and oddly enough each of them was sweating bullets. Quistis wondered if this was how she was supposed to make her students feel, and if so then she had made the right career choice. There was no way in hell she had the ability to put this kind of trepidation in anyone.

"You've all been gathered here because each of you has one thing in common. You know me." Naruto turned on his heel to stare Seifer in the eye, causing the toughest guy in their group to flinch.

Leon huffed while speaking under his breath, "Joy…"

Naruto walked over and looked him in the eyes, "You say something, statue?"

Leon's face went blank save for the tiniest flinch, ' _Did he just call me… statue?'_

Seeing that Leon had let the lion catch his tongue Naruto moved on with his pacing, "I have with me an item of great power said to house a demon. This is a false illusion to protect what is truly trapped inside. Within this artifact is indeed a being of great strength… the Guardian known as Diablos. As you are most certainly aware, the word holds weight. Diablos is likely to be of a demonic nature, and one of my friends has informed me that he possesses power over Gravity magic. As the Guardian Enforcer, I am obligated to release this Guardian from his prison, however the likelihood of there being hostility is almost assured.

I have assembled you because you are all incredibly skilled and I can confidently depend on you to help me with this. Also… I enjoyed kidnapping the lot of you."

Zell pulled out a potion to sip at the healing tonic inside, "Son of a bitch…"

"I'm in." Seifer said, surprising everyone.

Naruto walked up to his fellow blonde and grinned, receiving a smirk in return. The two gripped each other's hands before Naruto turned to the rest of the group. The next to step up was Leon, and this only further surprised the entire group. Naruto walked over to Leon and looked into his eyes, "This is unexpected…"

Leon looked at him with a bored expression, "This obviously interests you… so maybe I can learn to appreciate the interest of the people around me…"

Naruto smiled and then patted his shoulder lightly, "Very good, Leon, you won't regret it."

Leon crossed his arms and huffed, clearly already feeling a little regret, but Naruto was proud of him for his willingness to try. Naruto turned to see Selphie and Zell walking up to him. Both looked irritated, but he could see that it was fading pretty quickly. Zell turned to Selphie and the two nodded to one another before he spoke.

"We're in, damn you. But next time, give us a chance to follow instead of going all… crazy psycho on us, bro!" He waved his hands around frantically while yelling the last part.

Naruto checked his nails in a very bored pose, "Don't know what you mean man."

Zell had to hold back Selphie who was about ready to throttle him, but Naruto just chuckled and waved his hand dismissively, "Hai, hai, I won't do what I did today to either of you ever again, I promise."

Everyone seemed to stare at him with very blank looks, knowing full well that the wording of his promise was full of loop holes he could exploit. Hoping to save him from a savage beating at the hands of the others, Quistis quickly stepped up from her position and over to his side.

"I'll help too, this could bring more strength to the Garden if the Guardian wishes to help." Quistis smiled brightly, "And I think your girl friend would be pretty angry with us if she found out we didn't help you out, right?"

Zell had the most evil smirk on his face, "Oh-ho! That's right! I wouldn't want to be punished by your sugar momma, Arctic Fox."

Everyone snickered at Naruto as he gestured a shaking fist at Zell, "Oi, coming up with teasing nick names is _**my**_ shtick, you ass hole!"

"Come on… give the snow boy a break." Leon said with a very deceptively passive face.

Selphie was literally on the ground kicking her feet into the air as she tried to hold in her laughter. Naruto looked at Leon with wide eyes before he grew flustered, "That's snow **man,** you bastard!"

"Bet that freezer burn is going to be a real pain in the d-…" Seifer began saying but Naruto slapped a hand over his mouth.

"For the love of god, do not go there, believe it!"

Everyone proceeded to die, falling over on asses while tears rolled down cheeks. Naruto eyed them all with his face very red. How had everything fallen apart so quickly?! He growled angrily before smirking and pulling out the scroll with the box sealed inside. Unsealing the box in a small cloud of smoke, he kicked it open and grabbed each of his friends by whatever he could get his hands on. With the laughing bastards all trapped in his grip, he gave the odd lamp a rub and immediately the world went dark. One by one the group quieted as each took in the change of scenery. Zell was the last one to realize something was off, and he voiced his discovery with only the utmost sophistication.

"The fuck…?"

* * *

" **How interesting…"** A sinister voice surrounded them as it echoed off invisible walls, **"One so similar to my captor has come. Normally I would simply crush you humans for coming here to taunt me… but perhaps we can… strike a deal?"**

Naruto walked in front of his friends to stand as their leader, "Come out, Diablos, come and speak face to face."

A chuckling erupted around them, **"Are you sure about that…? They say to be wary of what you desire…"**

"If you wish to broker a deal then there is hardly a reason to fear asking you to come out of hiding." Naruto said while eyeing the darkness around them.

A portal opened slowly on the floor of pitch black, with bits of light streaking from the edges toward the center. The group found it eerily reminiscent of a black hole, and that made each of them very uncomfortable. From the portal emerged two feet, black as the night and curved like the feet of a vicious bird of prey. Sharp talons for nails promised the ripping of flesh to all those who oppose him. Next the legs of an athlete so smooth they seemed to reflect the non-existent light, each muscle glistening dimly. Hips and stomach followed, all perfectly muscled as if carved from smooth, black marble. The chest and folded arms that came next spoke of unrivaled strength, and dangerous clawed fingers sent chills down their spines. A set of great, black wings were folded lazily against his back, and finally his horned head rose from the darkness. His eyes were shut as if sleeping, but then they suddenly opened to reveal a menacing red that shined and pulsed. The pulse of red woke up patches of glowing red all over his body that gave the striking appearance of exposed muscle.

As he rose up, his body remained upside down… or so it seemed. His feet touched down on the ceiling, and then the team abruptly fell from the floor and slammed into the… new floor? Diablos cackled as he watched the humans suffer from his little gravity prank. They scrambled to return to their feet, legs shaking from the fear of falling toward nothingness. Naruto was even feeling a little off by then, but he was able to recover enough to laugh.

"Now I see, very clever prank there. Master of gravity indeed." Naruto bowed with flair.

Diablos returned the gesture with a wicked toothy grin, **"But of course, I do love to please."**

"Now, before we discuss business, what did you mean when you said someone similar to the one who imprisoned you?" Naruto walked over to Diablos leaving his team to stay back and out of danger for now.

" **You… you give off a similar magical aura as the man who put me in this cursed hunk of cheap metal. He was a sorcerer, something very rare among humans considering only women should be able to harness magic on such deep levels. He had been hunting me for a time after I had been summoned to destroy his home town by one of my old summoners. Using a ritual circle the likes of which I had never seen, he placed me in this… prison to rot. I remember his victorious smirk as I fell into this void, and that accursed blonde hair… so much like yours."** Diablos glared death toward Naruto as his teeth gleamed viciously,

" **I have dreamed of the day I would see him again, but I fear you humans live such short lives. He is most certainly long passed, but you… you bear such resemblance… perhaps I can vent my frustrations on your pathetic form. But alas, I did promise a deal, and I do not go back on such words. I have the power to release you from my hold on you here, but I will only do so if you can best me in battle. Should the unspeakable happen and you survive… I will grant you freedom. Lose, and you will all suffer my fury."**

"Anything goes, right?" Naruto asked casually, all his friends exchanged glances and then stepped backward slowly.

Diablos laughed loudly, **"Bold question, but the answer is yes. You will need all the help you can get!"**

Naruto smiled and then held up his hand to gather magic. A whirlwind of power surged around him as Diablos eyed him warily. That damn magic was so potent and dense… just like the bastard from his nightmares. Naruto's eyes glowed with his charged power and then he spoke loudly.

"Scorch the earth and bring rebirth, Ifrit!"

' _ **You have got to be kidding, he thinks to bypass the runes on this prison to… oh no.'**_ Diablos' thoughts were brought to a halt as a bright flame burst into life before his eyes.

From the flames dripped magma that seared and hissed against the cold surface. From the intense heat walked the hulking figure of Ifrit in all his glory, armor in place and claws sharpened to perfection. Each of his rippling muscles beneath his short body fur clenched and relaxed with each step he took. When the Guardians' eyes met, Ifrit grinned wickedly while Diablos tried to mirror it, only to waver in his defiance. Naruto noticed the exchange and smirked a bit. He knew Ifrit would enjoy this summoning from the way he had spoken earlier.

" **Brother… so fate smiles on me today that I might have this chance to beat your sorry ass."** Ifrit spoke in mostly growls, but his words rang clear as day.

Naruto was behind the fire demon exchanging bets with his friends. Even Quistis wanted a piece of the action, slipping a few Gil to Naruto while whispering her particulars. While this was happening, Diablos was watching out of the corner of his eye and growing more and more angry by the moment, but that anger was overwhelmed by his fear of the situation. Ifrit was the strongest of the three eldest Guardians and none of the lesser elementals were stupid enough to attempt to take the title. Diablos was strong in his own right, but he wasn't foolish. He then grinned as something came to mind that was just too delicious to not voice.

" **Oh, brother, you and I both know this is pointless chatter. Soon you will vanish away back to your flame pit. Intimidation is merely a waste of your precious time her…-"** Diablos was strutting verbally like the cock on the walk, until a large hand with claws the size of his horns nearly broke his neck in a tight grip.

Ifrit lifted Diablos off his feet, and then subsequently slammed him into the ground so hard one of his wings broke releasing purple blood from a tear in one of the membranes, **"You think my summoner so weak as the others? He is a true summoner, you pitiless whelp, and I believe that you are one ass whooping short of today's quota."**

Diablos eyes widened and he struggled to glance toward Naruto, only to see the human standing ready to fight. He was released from the death grip only to be the victim of a savage kick that send him skidding across the ground. Not one to be taken lightly, he recovered and sank his claws into the unseen ground. He leapt straight into the air to dodge a large burst of flames that would have been trouble if he had been hit. His broken wing was slowly mending, but he couldn't fly very far until it was done, so he used his working wing to glide a ways away from his attackers. Naruto was running beside Ifrit who was dashing on all fours like a tiger.

Diablos saw them charging and then summoned a Gravija spell to increase the gravity in the area they were passing through. Naruto felt the pressure as his weight was dramatically increased. Ifrit was unaffected by the physics of such magic and kept his stride with gusto. Smirking, Diablos sank into another dark portal like the first he had created to appear. Ifrit roared angrily, but then turned toward Naruto when he heard the human scream out in pain. Naruto was on the ground with four large gashes on his stomach and his eyes open wide in a state of shock.

" **You see? This is the limitation of humans! We should forsake these things and keep our blessings from them. Your little bitch was just as weak, brother!" Diablos cackled madly as he saw the look of pure agony on Ifrit's face, "I did you a favor when I rid you of her bondage. Humans are a waste of our blessings, but even more so a waste of our hearts."**

"You know, I was gonna end this quick because my friends have things to do… but you just crossed the line, ass hole."

Diablos turned in shock only to get struck in the face by a spinning ball of tightly concentrated magical energy that sent him flying. He cried out in pain before once again righting himself using his claws to scrape the ground, but when he stopped Zell spin kicked him in the back of his head sending him to his knees. He grit his teeth as he cursed the filthy humans for catching him off guard. Staggering to his feet, he felt his wing nearly repaired and groaned as several rips in his membranes sewed back up. He turned toward the human who had kicked him only to find a small female with brown hair holding a set of nunchaku. She grinned up at him, throwing him off severely, and then he was struck by several spells at once, each one of his own Demi spells. As the gravity around his body intensified he felt his legs threatening to buckle.

Leon stuck next charging right through his guard to land a slash across the chest of the demonic GF who screamed in pain before slashing viciously with his claws. Leon would have taken a hit had it not been for the defensive slash by Seifer that came up right in time. The GF danced back and forth with the two swordsmen as they traded positions of attack and defense, never letting the other over extend. Diablos cursed the gravity magic leaving his speed so severely weakened that two mere humans could keep him at bay. Leon and Seifer then struck in tandem, Leon from the top, and Seifer from the bottom, leaving Diablos falling back from two solid slashes from his right shoulder to his left hip. The pair both leapt to the right an left to avoid the chain whip striking from the shadows.

As Diablos struggled to remove the cursed whip from his neck where it had wrapped around twice, Quistis kept him subdued with a constant flow of her Electrocute Blue Magic spell. High above the battle where his friends were working as a well oiled machine, Naruto was seated on the shoulder of Ifrit as the Guardian summoned a large ball of insanely hot molten rock. Naruto was feeding his raw magic into Ifrit to help form the attack. Unlike his usual summoning, Ifrit wanted this particular attack to have some more kick, but all he could do was add more fire and magic to it. Naruto thought of how to increase the lethality of the attack, and wondered about its shape. Ifrit felt Naruto stand up and then walk out onto his forearm and he grew nervous.

" **Human, don't get too close, this could incinerate your body with the amount of essence we have infused."** Ifrit warned warily.

Naruto looked back at his big friend and smiled, "Don't worry Ifrit; I have an idea that might make this so much sweeter."

Naruto had to be careful to do this just right, or else he could end up passing out from magical drain. Holding his hand out toward the large magma ball, he closed his eyes and stretched out his magic toward it. It wasn't hard to latch onto the magic that he had already given to Ifrit, but it was damn difficult to try and manipulate it from this far. He would not quit, no matter what, because Uzumaki Naruto never quit when he had some insane idea to try, even if his ass was on the line!

Somewhere, in an icy cave, a Guardian felt her nose twitch, but Guardians didn't sneeze… _**'Naruto is being an idiot again…'**_

Naruto felt for that familiar movement. It started out slow, almost non existent, but as the seconds passed the surface of the magma ball began to swirl and froth while licks of fire rose rom the tides. Ifrit watched in awe as his already devastating attack seemed to intensify to power he had never dreamed of. It was just like the small orb he had used early to nearly break Diablos' jaw. The now giant spinning ball of golden molten rock was ready to go, and Naruto sat down on his arm to rest.

"Hell Storm Release: Obscenely Large Rasengan." Naruto said while grinning at Ifrit.

Ifrit saw Diablos on his knees being shocked with an electrical spell and saw only opportunity. He lifted his free arm and tensed his muscles as tight as possible. Then, in a move that only extreme volley ball fans could appreciate, he spiked that mother fucker right down at that damn gravity demon. The humans scattered for the hills just as Diablos was struck. The fire storm that followed was thing of beauty that even the summoners of old would have been envious of.

Diablos screamed in agony as he was consumed in flames. The burning was so intense he couldn't heal quick enough to counter the damage being done. The fire seemed to form a vortex of destruction around him that was tightly concentrated on his location. Ifrit was no slouch, but he wasn't clever enough to devise such an attack alone. That human must have helped create his new personal hell. His screams died down and slowly the storm collapsed and spun out of existence. As Diablos lay there panting and groaning from his aches and pains, Ifrit landed nearby with Naruto in his arm. Zell and Selphie were the first to his side, and when they found no wounds they both signaled to the others that he was all right. Ifrit walked slowly over to his brother and kicked him roughly to put him on his back.

Diablos coughed up a little blood that stained his mask-like face purple, **"Damn… that was… fuck, I hurt…"**

" **You deserved it, you piece of garbage. You should know better than to mention her… I cannot stand to hear her name slandered."** Ifrit growled, trying to remain dignified in his victory even as his anger raged on.

Diablos chuckled a little, **"You should know… I always go… for the low blows…"**

Ifrit growled lowly while kneeling to look Diablos in the eye, **"Let me be frank… I will never, ever forgive you for what you did. I will however ignore you… until the end of our days… in order for our family to be together again. We found her… we found Siren, Diablos."**

Diablos eyes widened significantly. Siren was by all rights his true sister, in that they were both born after the second generation of Guardians. When she had gone missing he had been the first one to blame humans, but none of the others would hear it. Siren had been a kind Guardian, content to avoid battles and give blessings to those who needed a little help. She would be the ideal test subject for something sinister… something like what that human had done to him for his actions against that city. Diablos looked into the eyes of his elder brother, **"Where?"**

" **She was trapped in the stomach of a monster. It was… feeding from her. The extraction nearly killed her, but we were able to save her. She is hidden in the caves of the mountains on Balamb Island."** Ifrit said before standing up and helping Diablos into a sitting position so his back could heal properly.

Diablos winced and hissed in pain, but endured until he was sitting and then he sighed, **"Thank god she is safe. To have been in her place to save her from such a fate…"**

" **Don't thank any of us. It was the work of the human. He was able to summon forth a new body for her long enough for us to infuse it with our magic."** Ifrit grumped and gestured to Naruto who was speaking with his friends at the time.

" **Surely you cannot be serious. A human cannot summon forth a physical body for a Guardian. And you would not have allowed one to try, save for a sorceress, but we vowed to never trust them after what they did to…"** Diablos trailed off after he saw the serious look on Ifrit's menacing muzzle.

He pointed at Naruto, **"That boy is the first True Summoner since they were purged by Odin and we will protect him just as he will help protect us. As much as I would see you fade into distant memory, Shiva has urged that we work together as we were meant to."**

" **I agree that we should all be together for once, but for all the good that will do me trapped in this prison. That blasted Sorcerer trapped me here long ago, and nothing I have done has broken the strange ritual he cast."** Diablos closed his eyes in frustration.

Naruto walked up then and looked at Diablos, "Hey, horny, you going to apologize for that shit you said earlier?"

Ifrit and Diablos both looked at Naruto with opposing expressions. Diablos was livid, and his scowl was unmatched. Ifrit was fighting a battle between being surprised and laughing his ass clean off. The human had called him horny for crying out loud! But then, the human was coming to his defense which was something he had not been expecting. Shiva had spent literal hours speaking nothing but praises for the young male, but he had shrugged them off as her childish crush blinding her to his inadequacies. Perhaps there was more to the boy than he had been willing to accept, but he would not be so easily swayed by one act of kindness.

" **Why should I? Because a mere human wishes it so? You must be dense."** Diablos spoke condescendingly.

Naruto waved his hand dismissively, "Whatever dick bag, stay and rot in here for the rest of eternity wishing it weren't so. When you feel like being free, then apologize to Ifrit and I will think about it."

" **Keep me here and I keep you here, there is no reason to release you other than my word, and it is mine to take back."** Diablos stood slowly and held his healing side.

Naruto nodded sagely, "True, you could do that. However, I have three Guardians who would be most displeased that their Enforcer is being held against his will by their brother. Shiva for sure would make life here a living hell."

Diablos looked at Ifrit and saw the menacing grin the larger Guardian wore and he began to sweat. This was entirely unfair for him… but the idea of dealing with constant family visits was daunting. Gritting his teeth while his eyes shut tight in frustration he turned to Ifrit and spoke begrudgingly, **"I… I'm sorry… for speaking harshly… about… Clara."**

Ifrit said nothing, but he gave Naruto a nod of approval which the blonde returned before facing Diablos, "That's better, this is healthy, I think we're bonding right now. I think we should man up and bring it in for a group hug. Come on big guys, don't be shy."

"Stop being an idiot and just get this over with, we all have to report for duty soon!" Selphie yelled from her spot among the humans waiting to escape the darkness of this hell zone.

Naruto chuckled under his breath as he heard her annoyed yelling, "Ok I'll get serious. Diablos, bump fists with me so we can bond."

Diablos watched the small blond human hold up his hand in a fist. Thinking on it for only a moment, Diablos threw caution to the wind and touched his larger fist to the small one. Instantly he felt warmth envelope him as a rush of very rich and dense magical essence flooded his core. He felt stronger than ever, and he felt all of his wounds heal at once. Flexing his wings and clenching his fists he grinned and surged his magic. The floor of the prison shook and he widened his eyes. He loosed a larger pulse of stronger magic and the floors cracked making everyone stumble a bit.

" **Finally, I have the power to break from this place… I will send you back. Ifrit, inform the others that I have returned and I will be seeking out Siren, if you please."**

Ifrit gave a firm nod before fading away back into Naruto. Naruto walked over to his team and made sure everyone was holding onto each other just in case. In a flash, they were ejected from the lamp and landed in a heap on the grassy field of the Quad. Nearby students leapt nearly out of their skins when six people appeared out of thin air. But that was nothing compared to the flash that followed, and then the explosion as the lamp blew into several thousand pieces. No one was struck by anything thankfully, but the wooden box the lamp had been in was obliterated. Naruto was the only one of the group to see the black orb of energy fly up and off into the distant northern sky.

"Naruto… the next time you have a magic lamp with a Guardian in it… don't involve me." Zell groaned as he rubbed his sore ass from the fall.

Seifer stood up and rubbed the grass from his knees, "Stop whining you wuss, this is the kind of thing that people write stories about."

"I hate to agree with him… but Seifer is right. This was a once in a lifetime experience. But… once is plenty." Leon huffed and walked off without another word, hoping to put as much distance between himself and Naruto as possible. He only got three steps before the Garden intercom system rang with a message.

 _Attention, SeeD Agents Squall Leonhart, Selphie Tilmitt, Zell Dincht, and Naruto Uzumaki, report to the Front Entrance in twenty minutes in travel gear. Repeat, SeeD Agents…_

"Why… just, why?" Leon grumbled before heading off to get his travel gear ready.

Quistis hurried off quickly, "Oh damn, I forgot I had to see the headmaster. Good luck you three, if I don't see you before you go then be safe!"

Naruto waved his farewells before looking at Zell and Selphie, "Looks like we're up, better get ready. Zell, you're allowed to leave the weights off, we don't need to tire ourselves out too much while on missions."

Zell leapt into the air, "Yes! Oh thank the Guardians this day has come! Oh sweet mercy, I haven't been this happy since my first hot dog."

Naruto leaned over to Selphie to whisper, "Wait until he discovers women."

Selphie nodded sagely until she realized what he had alluded to, but her fury was lost to the blonde because he was already gone. Selphie pouted as she lost her chance to punish him for being such a pervert, but as she watched Zell go on about his freedom, she blushed thinking of how exuberant he would be the day he… never mind. She sighed heavily and wandered off to the dorms to change and pack. Zell followed after once he had finished his many praises. Seifer was the last one left standing in the field watching his… friends?... walk off to their first mission. His fist clenched in jealousy, but he soon let it go knowing it couldn't be helped.

* * *

Naruto had returned to his room soon after leaving Selphie flustered and he was sorting through his supplies. Restocking of his throwing weapons was routine, as well as his razor wire. He had been using less wire lately spending so much time on the front line, but that would all change soon enough if he had his way. He checked his very small supply of thirty seven fuma shuriken and sighed. Kyu had informed him that his supplies would become his own responsibility after he passed the SeeD exam, but he wasn't sure where the hell Kyu had been finding the damn things. Maybe if he used some sweet talk on Shiva she would… no, better not to use someone like that, even if it was ever so tempting.

Storing several clips of ammo for his blades in his pouch, he noticed out of the corner of his eye a magazine sitting on his desk. Looking, he realized it was the latest monthly installment of Weapons Monthly, with a note on it from Cid. The note simply said that he hoped Naruto enjoyed the room and that this was a little something to help him on the road. Smiling at the kind gesture, he pocketed the magazine for later reading and finished packing. Used to living with the bare minimum, Naruto packed several nutrition bars in his pouch and strapped a steel reinforced canteen to his belt. The last thing he made sure to pack… were several pairs of his precious fox under pants. His instructors at the academy back in Konoha had always drilled the need for spare undergarments to minimize filth and discomfort during long missions. Naruto had learned this lesson the hard way early on during survival training… rashes hurt like a mother fucker.

Naruto packed everything he cared for into the Security Locker, and left a few surprises for the lovely bastards who thought to make his room an easy target for snooping during his absence. His final checklist all taken care of, Naruto locked his dorm up tight and left for the Main Gate. He passed several Cadets and a few SeeD on his way and gave each a friendly nod or wave, receiving a few farewells and wishes of good fortune. It was so odd to be respected, or even just regarded in a polite manner. This place… it felt more like home than anywhere he had ever been to before. It felt pretty damn good.

* * *

The walk was short and pleasant, but the group gathered was looking less than comfortable. Leon and Selphie were waiting by a set of shady trees relaxing. Well, Selphie was relaxing, Leon looked a little constipated, as Leon is wont to do. Naruto noticed Selphie was wearing something new: a yellow mini-dress with overall straps over her shoulders and a zipper down the front, a silver pendant around her neck, and half-calf brown fur boots from Trabia. Across from them standing patiently was Headmaster Cid with Quistis by his side. Cid was beaming proudly at the two students while looking pensive, no doubt showing his precious students with praise in his own mind. Quistis was trying to remain stoic and calm, but she kept eyeing the last of the group waiting… the head of Garden Faculty. The tall man had no name that Naruto was aware of, but he gave an aura of authority and he spoke with purpose, utterin not a single wasted breath.

"Fuck, I'm not late, am I?" Naruto asked while looking at his Junction Watch.

"Language!" Quistis, Selphie, and the Garden Faculty head all grumped.

Naruto waved his hand to dismiss their anger, "Hai, hai, take it easy… so, am I late? Watch seems to be ticking on the normal…"

"You're on time, we are just waiting for Zell… and now he is late." Quistis remarked as the distant sound of the bell rang at the Garden.

Naruto held up a hand with five fingers and started counting down. When his thumb was pulled in to form a fist Zell shot out of the Garden behind him on a speeding hover board. Performing a few flamboyant stunts, the blonde eventully stopped and dismounted his vehicle with a kick to flip the contraption up and into his hand. Smiling from ear to ear, he didn't notice the Garden Faculty head walking up behind him. When the board was snatched from his grip he turned ready to lash out, only to stop dead and grow pale.

"Hover boards and other kinds of personal transportation or entertainment vehicles are prohibited on Garden grounds, Mister Dincht. I am afraid this will have to be confiscated until further notice."

Zell gained some color back as his face became indignant, "But, I was going to use it on our mission! This is ridiculous!"

"Rules are rules for a reason, Mister Dincht. Now, get into formation to receive this… mission from Headmaster Cid." The Faculty head spat the words as he returned to his place to oversee the briefing.

Zell huffed before getting in line with Leon, Selphie and Naruto, all at attention except Naruto who stood with his body relaxed and his right hand perched on his hip. Quistis was about to admonish her new-favorite-former-student, but Cid stepped forward to speak instead. His smile widened as he took in their respectful gaze, even Naruto in his relaxed pose wore a look of respect for the man speaking to him. This was one of he few things he truly appreciated about leading Garden: molding young minds into respectful young adults capable of anything.

"First off, good morning to you all, I am glad to see each of you have recovered from possible hangovers…" Here he glanced at a blushing Zell, "I am excited to see what each of you are capable of in the field. We received a contract… very recently, and I am overseeing it personally. You four were requested specifically due to your accomplishments in Dollet. Trust me when I say that this mission quite literally may effect the globe as a whole. Your team leader for this mission will be Squall Leonhart…" Here Zell sighed in a disappointed fashion, but Cid paid him no mind, " I cannot issue you any details about your primary objective at this time due to the need for security.

The four of you are to report to Balamb Station and take the first available train across the sea to the city of Timber. You will be deep in Galbadian territory, so I urge you caution and restraint are important here. We do not know how strong the military presence is within Timber; the political atmosphere there is incredibly tense. Our client has informed me that you will be meeting with one of their associates at the station. I was told it will be a male, dressed inconspicuously, and he will engage strangers in conversation occasionally. If you are approached, you will be addressed with the following phrase:

'The forests of Timber sure have changed…'

You will then be expected to reply casually with the phrase:

'Yeah, but the Owls are still around…'

After that your orders are to assist the client in any and all operations until their primary objective is complete. You will be on your own from the moment you leave this gate, and should your identities be compromised, your involvement with Garden may be denied. Should you be in dire need of assistance, send word via our underground channels and we will dispatch a rescue team to your location, but do not count on swift response. One compromised team is all we can afford. Am I understood?"

Four affirmatives were voiced firmly to Cid and he smiled again, letting his stern dictator façade slip away in favor of his usual kind nature. The Garden Faculty head stepped forward to speak causing Cid to eye him with a small look of distaste before quickly returning to his friendly demeanor.

"This mission is important to the Garden, and while you are out in the field we expect you to act like you deserve to be a member of SeeD and this Garden. While some of the staff here think that failure is acceptable… those who truly matter do not. Do… not… fail." His final words given, he did not wait for any response from the team before leaving.

Naruto scowled a bit before sighing, "It isn't bad enough those face things make them look like uncircumcised penises, they have to act like dicks too?"

There was a silence among the two groups before a snorting echoed out. The SeeD all started wide eyed at Headmaster Cid who was turning red. Struggling, small bursts of laughter kept bubbling up and out of the man. Naruto wore a grin, and joined in when Cid finally burst his gut wide open. The howling laughter brought the other four watching to stare at them as if they had lost their minds. Selphie, a crimson blush on her cheeks, angrily dragged Naruto toward the gates while Zell and Leon followed quietly, not quite getting why the joke was so funny. Quistis stood by the rolling form of Headmaster Cid while he complained about stomach pain between gasping and giggles.

' _Never a dull moment around you, is it Naruto?'_

* * *

After the team had arrived in Balamb Leon had issued an order to the team to purchase any last minute supplies before regrouping at the train station for the noon train. Zell ran off in the direction of his family home to check in with his mother and pick up a few lunch boxes for the team. Selphie went to shop for a few medical kits in town for the road as well as pick up a new world map to keep track of where they end up moving during their mission. Leon took his time to procure tickets for the train and gather information on Timber from some of the rail workers. Seeing his opportunity to relax, Naruto strolled through the city toward the station at a leisurely pace.

' _Is anyone available to chat?'_ Naruto called gently into his mind wondering if any of the Guardians were available.

" _ **Naruto, is that you?"**_ Shiva responded with a hint of excitement.

' _Are there other men talking to you in their minds? Is there something that you need to tell me, hime?"_ Naruto teased in a faux serious tone.

Shiva took the bait as she spluttered out several strange syllables, _**"W-whaaa? N-no!"**_

Naruto had to stop in his stride to laugh which drew attention from people walking by. Several people scurried away from him giving him weird looks, _'God your reaction was priceless! Oh, thank god I wasn't in the middle of the street or I might have been hit by a car.'_

" _ **That was not funny, Naruto…"**_ Shiva said while an audible pout could be heard in her speech.

Naruto began walking again as he calmed down and wiped a tear from his eye, _'Aww~ I'm sorry, Shiva. How about I make it up to you?'_

"… _ **How?"**_ The hopeful tone in her voice was so cute and it was all he needed to hear to know he wasn't in any serious trouble with the female Guardian.

' _I have about a half hour before I need to be at the train station. How about we have a little walk through the market?'_

Silent moments passed by as Shiva thought about his proposal. On the inside she was eager to blurt out the affirmative so that the two of them could share some quality time together… However, Siren had taken her aside earlier and spoken in private to her about the subtlety approach and cautioned that she be more thoughtful of her actions with Naruto. Shiva had asked why, and Siren had made it perfectly clear that relationships weren't something to act childishly about. It was odd for Shiva to be spoken to like that by a younger Guardian, but the wisdom in those words rang true. Those wise words in mind, she begrudgingly decided to nip this in the bud for now and develop things slower.

" _ **Actually, I think you shouldn't let yourself get distracted from your mission. I wouldn't want you to miss the train because we were out having fun. But, I wouldn't mind keeping you company here while you wait for the team to assemble. Besides, there is something that Siren wishes for you to learn now that you have so many of us on your side, so we can spend your time wisely and increase your strength."**_ Shiva didn't sound very convinced, but she did make a point to put on her serious tone.

Naruto heaved a sigh, _'Damn, I was hoping… right, focus. I'm all ears… er… mind?... you know what I mean. Teach on, oh mighty Shiva!'_

Shiva hated to disappoint him, but then she thought about the fact that he genuinely sounded disappointed, and that made her giddy, _**"Good to hear you so eager to learn. While you walk I will explain to you about our abilities. You see, as Guardians, we possess great powers and abilities that not only enhance us, but our connection to our blessed ones. You have been given a brief rundown on our ability to enhance physical strength, mental fortitude, and agility. Now, I will explain the advanced benefits of your Junctions. First I will explain about the abilities that we grant you by teaching you about one specific ability that Diablos has agreed to teach you… he calls it Mug.**_

 _ **In your Junction Menu on the watch provided by Garden, you will find this ability in a list with several others under Diablos specific entry. Mug will give your hands enough dexterity to steal things from your opponents each time you strike them. You will find your senses enhanced in that small window of time, enabling you to identify valuables and how to procure them. With enough practice, and a lot of luck, you will be able to steal all manner of things from people, monsters… even Guardians if you face them. There are many special abilities that we can grant you as we develop stronger bonds with you. Normally this would take ages and lots of special items, but with you… well, you form complete bonds with us, so you have access to many things that others must work for.**_

 _ **The next ability I would like to discuss is Refine abilities…"**_

While listening to Shiva speak, Naruto busied his body by walking towards the Train Station. He passed Selphie while she spoke to a shop owner who operated out of a small window. Naruto waved to her absently as he walked by, ignoring what she was discussing in favor of the lecture. When he got to the station he sat down on the steps to wait for the others. Leon was standing at the top of the stairs listening to rumors and gossip about Timber. The two exchanged a nod before Naruto had turned his back toward Leon. The stoic brunette found Naruto's early arrival surprising, albeit appreciated since he valued punctuality and no dillydallying.

"… _ **These abilities allow our blessed ones to infuse small amounts of magical essence into items and spells in order to change them into something better. You would be surprised how many of these abilities there are and just how useful they can be. Between myself, Raikiri, Ifrit, and Siren you already have four of these Refinement abilities. I can aid in the gathering of stronger Ice and Water essence, Ifrit can gather Fire, Raikiri can gather Lightning and Wind essence, and Siren can help gather Life and Death essence. Diablos can gather Time and Space essence, though I am unsure of whether or not he will aid you at this time; he is being very stubborn.**_

 _ **As far as Item Refinement is concerned you have several abilities available to you now through Siren, Ifrit and Raikiri. Siren has always enjoyed tools and nature, so therefore she can create camping equipment that will rival anything made by man. Ifrit is responsible for the discovery of gun powder and prides himself on the creation of specialized ammunition for the firearms used by marksmen. Raikiri… is a Card Club fanatic. Anything Triple Triad and he is involved. Ever since its creation, he has given his blessed ones the ability to convert monsters into various cards… I find the whole thing slightly disturbing, but he has assured me that only monsters are affected by such a thing."**_

Naruto sat thinking about the potential such abilities had while on the road. Essentially, if he worked hard enough, he could go on without spending a dime on anything except food and weapons. Damn, weapons was still going to be a problem. Where was he supposed to find simple throwing knives when all the weapon shops only sold customized large model weapons? If only there was a refine ability to make… ninja… tools… Naruto rubbed his face with his palm before opening his Junction Menu and finding Kyu's furry ass. He found the abilities list. Lots of magic boosts and other such things he wasn't sure affected him at all. And then on the fifth page…

' _NIN-TL-RF… that furry son of a b-…'_ Naruto thought, forgetting Shiva was on the line.

" _ **Language!"**_

* * *

 **There we go, really hope you all enjoy and I look forward to the next arc being full of more action, more comedy, and more curing fowl mouthed Naruto to warm our hearts for the holiday season.**

 **With my Santa Hat, I bid the all a beautiful season my sweet and beloved senpais.**

 **Question:**

 **So much going on with the Guardian Forces, my god! And who is this mysterious person who looks like Naruto from Diablos past? Leave your guesses here for shits and giggles, you senpais, while I go yandere all over those people who keep talking to you. [Shing!] [Slice!] [Stab!]**


	11. Chapter 11

**Here we are again, with another one of these things. Gosh, eleven of these suckers out now and so many follows and such, I am le humbled. Just want to thank everyone who gave this story a chance and have been following it actively since the beginning. Once in a while the bad reviews make me think about quitting, but then I get those good reviews that keep my spirits up. I only hope I can keep up the flow of pleasant crap dribbling out of my brain holes for you lovely senpais.**

 **Warning for this chapter right off the bat: There are several Original Characters involved in a very small portion of this chapter. Do not be alarmed, they are in no way going to dominate the story, but they were needed for a special scene that I hope really pleases those die hard Final Fantasy fans who know the history and back story of VIII. I enjoyed writing it because it gave me a chance to really… create something that was my own. It is probably crap, but you can't win them all. Anyway… I just wanted my readers who do not approve of OCs to be aware of the situation and give them the chance to opt out of reading that portion. It will be bordered off with line breaks and the text is all italicized. Certain plot points later will be dependant on this scene and others that will come, but you won't be completely lost if you skip them.**

 **There also may be some feels. And some fluff. Oh just read the dang thing**.

* * *

" **I'm a big mother trucker, and you best be listenin!"**

* * *

Uzumaki Naruto had been all over the Elemental Nations traveling from one whore house to the next and experiencing things not many could boast. He had seen the mighty trains of the Lands of Snow and Iron, how they traveled so fast carry so many tons of wondrous goods. But never had he seen anything like the train the team booked passage on to cross the ocean to Timber. Everything had started out very normally. They each took a ticket, the total evening out at 4000 Gil which Leon had been generous enough to cover for the group. Inside, the room was very plain with a ticket station to feed tickets through a scanner. The scanner would then permit passengers to access the private rooms further down the train car. Naruto wasn't expecting anything like what he found.

The hall was carpeted in a fine and deep red color, and the walls were paneled in a dark wood with chrome trim around the doors and windows. There were three doors along the hall leading to the cabins and three windows to peer out of the train during transport. Leon and Zell took up the first room for their team while Selphie and Naruto stared out into the most amazing sight… the train was underwater! Yes, the train was on a track traveling through a large tube beneath the surface of the ocean. Lights were mounted on the outside of the tube to provide warning of any dangers under the sea, but it was clear the tube was built to withstand everything short of the hand of God.

For Naruto he felt the thrill of adventure in him because this would be his first time traveling in such a way. It scared him to think of the possibility of the structure collapsing or flooding, but it was so thrilling he craved the chance to travel on more of these amazing trains. Beside him, Selphie was in her own little world humming some tune he had never heard. The twinkle in her eyes was that of a child, one who loved trains and everything about them with such innocent glee. Naruto laughed inwardly at the thought of anyone mistaking Selphie for some helpless little kid wandering alone on the train. Having seen enough of the watery wonderland outside, he abandoned the window in favor of joining the guys inside for some rest.

The cabin was incredible! A couch that looked like it might be made of clouds lined the right wall, and two very inviting bunks were stacked along the back wall. The floor was comfortably carpeted with the walls mirroring the design of the hall. Naruto assumed the lotus position on the floor near the blank wall on the left while the others spoke privately. Noticing him after a moment, Zell smirked and then tossed a magazine across the room into Naruto's lap. Eyeing it he noticed what could be the world's most adorable puppy performing a flawless puppy eyes technique for the camera. While this pleased Naruto on a childish spiritual level, he eyed Zell with a questioning gaze.

"Okay, you've peaked my curiosity… why did you hand this to me?" Naruto asked while holding up the pet magazine.

Zell put his hands behind his head as he lounged on the couch in a lazy position that reminded Naruto of a certain troublesome brunette back home, "Pet shops tend to sell items that can help heal our Guardians quicker than if we just let them heal on their own. I am sure you could find other items in there that might be useful with your Guardian Forces… say… a collar for your ice queen?"

Naruto's brow twitched, and then his stomach lurched when he felt a sudden snap from the mental link he shared with the Mindscape letting him know that someone had just severed a connection very suddenly, _'Oh God no… please tell me no one heard that… especially Kyu, for the love of all that is holy!'_

"Zell… you may have broken our teammate…" Leon commented quietly while trying to remain in control despite the desire to laugh.

Zell was completely done, his laughter flowing freely even as he tried to keep his voice down to avoid attracting the attention of Selphie and her pervert prevention methods, "Look at his face… oh my God just look at it… he is so fucked right now~"

' _Please… someone… anyone… say something…'_ Naruto pleaded into the emptiness of his Mindscape, probing to try and reconnect. Sweat began to pour from his forehead as he imagined the hell Kyu would be preparing for him the next time he talked to Shiva.

While Naruto had a small panic attack thinking of Kyu and his relentless teasing, Selphie strolled into the cabin. With the train moving, she had decided to take a small rest to be up and perky for their arrival in Timber. Once long missions got going it was particularly hard to find time to rest after all. She saw Leon sitting on the edge of the bottom bunk while Zell sat nearest to him on the couch. Zell was laughing way to hard for it to be innocent fun, and she could practically smell the perversion in the air. It was making her… dizzy? Wait, that shouldn't be happening. The dizziness grew worse until she fell very ungracefully down onto the couch nearby causing Leon to leap from his seat on the bed.

Leon saw Selphie walking in rubbing her eyes, but there was something very off. Her eyes seemed glazed over as if she were under the influence of a Sleep spell. When she fell, he leapt up to try and help her, but his feet became unsteady. Nearby he could see Zell looking confused before slumping with his head back against the wall of the cabin behind the couch. Panicking, Leon gave it his best to reach the two of them before he stumbled and fell to his knees. Hissing at the pain from the fall, he soon couldn't see without a blur. He glanced over at Naruto only to see he too was fast asleep… fuck. The last one awake, team captain, leader of this ragtag group of rookies… finally submitted to the sleep that soon consumed him.

Naruto had missed most of what was going on in the room trying to reconnect with the Guardians inside his Mindscape. It was unrealistic to find no one willing to speak with him considering Shiva would have leapt to the invitation. His panic about silly teasing left him as the realization that something was truly wrong sank in. He looked up in time to see Zell falling into a deep sleep across the room. Selphie was out as well near his left. Leon was stumbling around a moment before Naruto felt his head grow heavy. Darkness fell over his eyes as he couldn't keep himself from passing out. Normally this would have had him fighting, but for some reason he felt at peace with this strange forced sleep. Like… someone he could trust was merely singing him a soft lullaby…

* * *

 _Night had fallen rather quietly over the southern continent of Gaia. The sky was… darker than most nights, though the millions below had seen the ominous storm cloud cover before the night had come. The many cities that peppered the landscape were the most advanced in all the world, with technology unlike any other civilization had dreamed of. One particular city was the pride and joy of the people… Centra City Alpha Omega was the first of the mighty mobile cities ever constructed and the most grand of all. The mighty towers would cast shadows for miles and the thousands of lights gave it the look of a beacon in the night. Every proud Centra citizen dreamed of living among the hundreds of thousands of wealthy and powerful people who populated the floating fortress metropolis._

 _The greatest honor in all of Centra was acceptance into the University of Thaumaturgy and Technology in Centra City AO. The second tallest spire, only dwarfed by the Centra Imperial Tower where the elite of Centra lived, UTT housed over three thousand of the best students from all over the continent. To ensure only the most deserved of pupils attend, the process to apply was very strict and rigorous. One did not simply pay their way into the institution like the universities of the northerners. No… only the best for the best, and the best of the best was a young man by the name of Nam Kaze. Nam had graduated at the top of his class of a mere thirty students. He had majored in Runes with a secondary in Mana Manipulation and Alteration. Aged twenty four, he was married to the love of his life Kana, and they were blessed with the impending arrival of a baby boy to be named Zuto._

 _Nam had been orphaned rather suddenly at age five with his parents brutally murdered in a magical attack on their estate. Criminal investigation had turned up nothing, not even a motive or suspect. The Kaze family had been one of the wealthiest and most upstanding families in all of Centra. Nam had been sent off to live under the care of a prominent political figure and thaumaturgy master named Emile Vance after several weeks of debate over the fate of the young boy. With young Nam now in his custody, he made the boy his apprentice and trained him extensively behind the scenes in preparation for his eventual acceptance into UTT. Tragedy struck again when Emile Vance passed away suddenly only a mere month before Nam would leave for his first term. During his mourning process, no one saw or heard from young Nam for days as he sequestered himself in his former master's estate._

 _His recovery was something of a miracle when only a few short weeks later Nam left his estate and dedicated himself to his education. From the first day he was special, a natural at every trade he studied. Out shining most of his competition, the university had nothing but praise for their golden boy. His eventual graduation was a time of celebration and sadness for the many masters of the university. Nam had been so dedicated to his work that each of his instructors loved having him in their lectures and workshops. Nam left those halls with ever drop of magical and technological learning he could squeeze out of his professors, a reputation to earn nearly any position within and without the government, and the most beautiful young sorceress in the world on his arm._

 _Nam accepted a job as Official Liaison between the Centra people and their sister colonies in the Holy Dollet Empire. Not as glamorous as he had been expecting it to be, he was unhappy with his position. Kana supported him with everything she had, even traveling with him to be by his side when the stress became to great and she needed his woman's affections. Nam was eternally grateful for her assistance, and used his resources to spoil her whenever he had the chance. They were the perfect couple, both behind closed doors and in public, and were the envy of both empires. With Zuto on the way, the two had been traveling by land and sea rather than air, something Kana often confessed caused her guilt over the amount of time it wasted, but Nam would hear none of it. The boy in her belly was worth any trouble to ensure his safety._

 _On this particularly dark night, Nam stood on the balcony of the master bedroom of his estate. The city below was glowing with the thrum of night life. The people never slept, never wanting for anything save their next fancy. To many outsiders the life of plenty in Centra was sickening, but that stemmed from their jealousy. The pitiful people outside their colonies, even among their sister colonies in the west… He was shaken out of his reverie by a pair of slender arms encompassing his neck from behind. The scent of strawberries filled hs nose. The once perfect womanly figure that would blend into his back was replaced instead by the swollen belly of his beloved wife. Nam smiled and turned his face to peer over his left shoulder. There, grinning like the vixen she was, stood Kana in her evening grown on her tip toes to try and secure a kiss on his cheek. She was cute as her face turned to disappointment; her round belly made it difficult to reach his cheek due to their size difference._

 _Nam turned to face his loving wife and leaned down to snatch a kiss from her lips with his own. Her childish disappointment was soon toppled over to be replaced with glee. Wrapping her arms around his neck again, only more securely than before, she kept her lover in place so that she could smother him with her affection. Nam offered no resistance pulling her closer so that their bodies were almost one, but not tightly enough to harm the baby. His gentle touch and constant paternal vigilance were something that she loved more than anything about him, and her eagerness to explore his lips provided the proof he needed of her approval. Nam reluctantly pulled away from her lips to look into her eyes, their hazel glow having a soothing effect on his troubled soul. He ran a single hand through her long ruby red hair causing her to lean her head into his palm._

" _What keeps you from our bed, husband?" Kana asked with her angelic voice that had always sent pleasant shivers down Nam's spine._

 _Nam heaved a soft sigh as he pulled his love closer to his heart, her head resting gently against his chest, "I didn't mean to wake you love, I just couldn't sleep. The residual magical essence in the air is… troubled. I worry for our family, but I cannot be sure what is causing such an effect on the area. Then there are the strange happenings on the moon of late… Doctor Ava at the Astrology Institute in Dollet sent word to Centra City about the population of monsters rising exponentially each month."_

 _Kana looked up into he eyes of her husband once more with concern and fear, "Love, you don't think it is… but it has been so long since the last recorded Lunar Cry."_

 _Nam smiled bitterly at his wife. She was so damn smart, so perceptive when it came to understanding things happening around her. He wished she had never woken up, never asked him any questions. Her worried eyes pained him so. His one desire in life apart from the petty squabbles over political position and power… was to give her a life of peace and joy. Placing his palm against her cheek, he gave the petal soft skin a caress of his thumb._

" _I can't lie to you my sweet. I am afraid the next Lunar Cry is upon us. I only hope that I can convince the court to move Centra City to the coast."_

 _Kana looked with a fiery intensity that had turned his knees to jelly many times before, "You will, Nam, if anyone can convince those old bastards it is you. You must work quickly, we have no idea when it will happen or where."_

 _Nam was about to speak when there was a great rumbling in the skies above. The magical essence in the atmosphere trembled and fluxed causing several of the magical systems in the city to overload and shut down. Nam turned to the city once again to stare off into the distant sky, only for his blood to run cold. The once blackened skies of the night glowed with a hue similar to several thousand Flare spells. The overcast clouds churned and writhed as they lit up with the magic in the air. There, in the center of the clouds, a strange dome of the thick smog bulged slowly until they burst to reveal thousands of monsters either falling or flying down toward the earth. The shockwave slammed into the city and shattered windows. Nam wrapped Kana in his arms to shield her from the blast with the help of several layered Shell and Protect spells._

" _Nam, it's happening! We must get out of here, the city will be overrun in an hour!" Kana yelled while clinging to his side, using his body to protect their baby from any other blasts._

 _Nam turned to the sky once more and saw through the swiftly dispersing clouds something terrifying. The monsters falling toward the planet from the moon were clustered around something… he could barely make it out at first. Then, his heart sank when he saw a glimps of solid rock the same hue as moonstones. The monsters had torn an entire chunk of the moon away when they were caught in the gravity of Gaia! Something that size…_

" _Kana, we have no time to lose, we must escape with Zuto… to the Ritual chamber, quickly." Nam held his wife close and guided her toward the door of their room._

 _The entire estate shook violently from distant explosions and the roars of terrible monsters outside. Kana and Nam rushed from their bedroom and down a darkened hallway. Once beautiful portraits hung on the walls were broken and useless on the floors, the walls were crumbling around them, and wind whipped through the house from the many shattered windows. Nam kicked open the double doors into his study and found the entire back wall completely gone. Kana gasped as she got a perfect view of the bloody sky and the eye-like shape of the mass of monsters gathered on the moon. A colossal piece of solid jagged rock was rapidly falling toward their atmosphere and burning in the sky._

 _Nam was lost in the panic for only a moment before the shrill terrified cries of his wife woke him up from his stupor. Pulling her toward the large door built into the bookshelves lining the east wall of his study Nam placed his palm on the door and infused his magic as quickly as he could. The door dissolved into the floor like a collapsing jigsaw puzzle to reveal a large chamber made of black stone with a smooth floor. Kana had been in the room before to aid in his rituals, but she was always awed by the sheer size of the room. From outside the tower that held the chamber was an imposing spire made of smooth red brick with a slanted roof made of several sheets of glass. Inside, the walls were made of some kind of magically refined stone that Nam had always been very elusive about. The floor was made of the same stone, but it had been smoothed and polished to perfection so that not a single blemish could disrupt any of the ritual circles her husband needed to create._

 _Nam ushered her aside before he walked to the center of the room, hands shaking from adrenaline and fear. Kana had never seen him so out of sorts, so vulnerable. And then he turned toward her and flashed her a smile while his cerulean blue eyes glowed with the intensity of his magical essence._

" _It will be okay Kana, I will protect you and our baby no matter what." He then turned away from his most precious ones and closed his eyes,_

" _Rend the void and collapse, Diablos!"_

 _In the air above her husband Kana saw the familiar portal of the Guardian that had always been by her husband's side. The demonic creature had always given her a bad feeling, but the beast had never been anything but loyal to her man. As the summoning was complete, Diablos gave each of them a grin before he felt it… the fluctuations in the air… and his gravity was pulling something massive toward Gaia! He turned to the human before him and growled in rage._

" _What are you doing here?! Can you not feel this pressure? You must run!" Diablos raged as he worried over the life of his fragile little summoner._

 _Nam held up a hand to stall his arguments, "My friend, there is no time. Before I knew anything was wrong, it was too late. All forms of transportation have been disabled by the magical surges, and to abandon ship on foot is impossible. I am afraid we must use the ritual you and I have been working on."_

 _Diablos balked as his summoner began to work feverishly on the floor with chalk, "You cannot! We have not established a proper link yet! Should you use this ritual we have no idea where it will send you! Think of your young one, yet to be born and you desire to try this?"_

" _We have no other choice! We must try, or else we will die anyway when that shard of moonstone impacts the earth! We are too close to run, and you can not carry us… I am asking you to infuse the circle with as much of your Space Time magic as you can before you must fade." Nam pleaded while he put the last few runes in place and activated the circle._

 _Diablos watched the complex array of runes and numerical symbols flash into life, the magic causing the chalk to ignite. He had only precious moments before his time would be up and he would be forced back into his summoner. Cursing the fates for this turn of events, he formed a concentrated ball of essence into his palm, and instead of expanding it into a Gravija spell he let the energy flow into the circle as quickly as he could without destabilizing the ritual. The flaming circle changed from a bluish hue into a circle of black flames with small hints of forest green energy licking up near the tips of the fires. Diablos felt the shift of essence in the room, and watched as loose objects began to float._

" _Nam… you had better survive this. You are my only summoner…" Diablos spoke softly with a fondness that not many had heard in the many years he had spent living on Gaia as a Guardian._

 _Nam was soon joined by his faithful wife. The two stood in the center of the flames, their clothes suffering no burns as the magical fire burned without heat. Kana held onto Nam with her face buried into his chest. Her delicate hands that had often held his own with such care were now desperately clung to his clothes. Nam whispered sweet nothings into her ears as a distant rumbling signified the inevitable breakthrough of their atmosphere allowing the rock to plummet toward the ground. He turned to the fading form of Diablos as the Demi Demon stared longingly at the only human he had ever cared for._

" _I'll give it my best shot, but no promises." Diablos looked as if he wished to speak, but the essence faded and he was returned to Nam._

" _Nam, I trust you… but I am so scared…" Kana found the courage to speak as her body trembled._

 _Nam stroked her long red hair and then kissed her on the top of her head, "…Me too love. Now, just close your eyes… and think of Zuto. Think of his small hands reaching for your face as he sees his momma for the first time. Think of his first laugh, his first smile when you tickle his tiny feet."_

 _Kana cried softly as she felt Nam moving his hands to cast the ritual spell. His heartbeat was ringing in her ear as she focused on her lover and the bundle in her belly. And then her breath caught in her throat when she heard his voice, that smooth and masculine voice that she had fallen in love with the first time she had heard him speak. The confidence that he commanded with each word was so… so… she couldn't put it into words. And this would be the last time she ever heard him speak._

" _Hih Rah Sh In!" Nam chanted before the two of them vanished in into a swirl of red and gold._

* * *

Naruto felt like he was swimming in sludge, his head thumping with each of his heart beats. His ears were ringing… or not? In fact, he couldn't hear anything at all, and the silence was more deafening than any sound could hope to be. His toughts were a strange mix of emotions and sensations. He felt incredibly scared, but calm… so happy, but incredibly sad… and there was a longing that wasn't his own overwhelming him. He was aware of his tears flowing uncontrollably, but he was almost positive he wasn't sobbing. Suddenly, a voice drifted into his ears from a distance… or was his hearing truly muddied and muffled?

" _ **Naruto…"**_

He recognized that voice… so soft and melodic… but why was it so scared? He was sure that it had yelled his name; yes Naruto was definitely his name. Who was it that was calling him? He heard it again, but this time clearer and closer. He felt compelled to reach out and touch them, but did he still have his hands? He could only see darkness, could only feel emptiness… and he could feel a familiar chill. That chill… it was so cold around his neck. He moved his head, or he tried to, and he felt his chin brush against skin as smooth as silk. The voice grew louder again…

" **Naruto, Naruto please wake up…!"**

The voice was so close, and now so real that he was sure he heard it with his own ears. If he had ears, then he was sure to have eyes. All he needed was to open them and see, right? Try as he might, it was difficult to find the right sensation… the right command from his mind. He kept pushing himself to open his eyes… to wake up. And then, he did, and when his eyes opened he was staring into the most beautiful icy blue eyes. They took his breath away, even if he had seen them before. They were open wide, and the cheeks below were stained with trails of thin ice that were broken and fractured from the movement of her face. Yes, it was a her, because only a her could show such emotions and empathy…

"S…Shiva?" Naruto asked tentatively as his body woke up piece by piece.

Naruto was still weak and his body very limp, but he was practically weightless to the ice goddess who practically tried to smother him with her arms. His face was pulled into the crook of her neck as she held him tightly; as if afraid he might suddenly be gone. Naruto let his eyes close again as he settled into her chilling embrace. She smelled of freshly fallen snow on a cold winter's morning. It reminded him of his time in the Land of Snow, a happier memory to be sure. Happiness enveloped him as he thought about those memories, and then his thoughts drifted to Shiva and how her eyes had been so full of concern for him a moment ago. He had seen people with that look before, in hospitals and during heartfelt goodbyes… but they had never been for him. This was for him…

"Shiva, what happened?" Naruto asked quietly.

Shiva spoke softly as she calmed down, **"We don't know. The connection between you and your Mindscape suddenly severed and our attempts to contact you failed. We were concerned and thought to go find your physical body, only for you to appear here in the Mindscape. Your body fell as soon as you appeared, and you have been asleep here since. Brother Kyu tried to figure out what had happened, but even he could find no clues. You were completely separated from us… only our bond remained to tether us to your Mindscape. I volunteered to watch over you while the others saw to teir duties."**

"I… I feel like I died or something… it was weird. I was inside some guy… I don't even know who he was… and things got bad. I hardly remember it… but it was so real." Naruto mumbled as he let his eyes look around the Mindscape.

Two new platforms had activated near the left side of the chamber. On one stood a single stone in the center of a pool of water. Perched on the stone in a relaxed position was Siren looking healthier than ever and playing a soft tune on her harp. Next to her, there was a cloud of darkness dotted with small flecks of light. In the center of the darkness was a recreation of the solar system with a large sun and several planets. Standing and examining the flow of the planets movements was Diablos giving the whole structure a pensive look.

When Naruto saw Diablos his memories flashed and he could see the large demon attempting to persuade him… or the man he was in… to try something else…? The look of concern the Guardian had worn in his dream was so genuine… but Diablos hated humans, right? It must have been nonsense… the crazed dreams of an idiot. Sighing, he decided not to pursue any questioning with the large bat man in favor of avoiding an argument.

Naruto sat up slowly and felt the arms around his neck start to slip away. In an act that he would later suffer endless teasing for, he stopped and turned so he could lean back against Shiva, his head resting against her chest. The arms froze for a moment before looping around his neck again to dangle loosely down to his chest. This felt good… it reminded him of the strange happy feeling from his dream… that was what love felt like. To allow oneself to be vulnerable in the arms of another… that feeling of complete faith… that was love. He knew there were drawbacks, downsides to love… the pain of loss, the fear of betrayal… the desperate attempts to keep the one you love safe from anything and everything. But for now… this was nice.

Shiva thought that Naruto wanted to move, to be free of his uncomfortable place on the hard floor of the Mindscape. It was silly to think such things really, considering the place was a construct of his imagination, but it was truly difficult to imagine separating realities when they were so similar. When she felt him shift and lean further into her embrace, her heart fluttered and she was incredibly glad he was turned away from her deep blue blushing face. In a bold move, she let her hands hang down to rest on his chest. She felt each rise and fall of his steady breathing and her blush died away. There was something calming about being there with him, just the two of them, not saying a word between them. Her breathing slowed to match his, and for a brief moment the two of them were nearly one entity.

Eventually Naruto broke the silence between them, "Shiva… thank you."

 **"For what, Naruto?"** She asked, her head slowly lowering to rest on top of his, golden locks brushing her cheek and tickling her nose.

"For… caring." Naruto replied simply while he relaxed further into her arms.

Shiva frowned for a moment as the meaning behind the words sank in, but soon enough she smiled warmly and wrapped her arms snugly around his neck, **"You're welcome… but you owe me."**

Naruto couldn't help the smile that spread across his lips when he heard the hint of mischief in her voice, "Oh? Name it and it is yours." Naruto was glad for the mood shift after the drama of his dreams and the sentiment of their conversation.

Shiva smirked and then moved slowly until her lips touched Naruto's ear and then she spoke in a whisper, **"Perchance you would favor your hime with a kiss to prove your devotion…?"**

Naruto was quiet for a moment and she was almost one hundred percent sure that he was blushing enough to pass out from the loss of blood to the heart. Next moment, however, he disentangled himself from her arms and stood to his feet. She watched him turn and offer his hand, which she took without question. She was pulled to her feet in a graceful flourish that she was certain she had nothing to do with. Naruto wore a very roguish grin on his face, which despite herself caused Shiva to blush again. Embarrassed, she wasn't aware enough to stop being pulled forward into his arms. Her blush only grew in intensity as she felt his warm and gentle arms around her waist. Naruto then leaned forward toward her, and she panicked. Her eyes closed on instinct and she froze up… only to feel her hand folded with one of his slightly bigger and much warmer hands, and soon after a pair of rough lips brushing against her knuckles.

Shiva opened her eyes and blinked like a doe in headlights, "Wha… what?"

Naruto merely smiled as he held her recently kissed hand against his cheek gently, "Next time when a guy asks you for a walk, don't play hard to get."

It took a moment for her to realize what he said, and Naruto could practically hear the gears turning. Suddenly her eyes widened and she stuttered out her reply. Naruto just laughed while she struggled to come up with the right words. Giving the woman a break, Naruto silenced her by laying a small kiss on her cheek. He knew he was going to get shit for this later, but he also didn't want Shiva to be mad at him for teasing her.

Shiva calmed down, but her blush did not, "There, I was just teasing. I hope you aren't mad."

" **You're mean…"** Shiva returned in all her mature splendor.

* * *

A very rough surface greeted Leon as he first came back from the dream world. Opening his eyes, his vision slowly came into focus. The first thing he saw was Naruto and his bright blonde hair slumped forward with his legs crossed underneath him. He was still out, which worried Leon greatly, because he had hoped at least one of them would have been able to resist whatever the hell that was. Pushing himself up slowly he heard the groggy groaning of his other two teammates. Zell woke up covered in drool and with some major cowlick on the back of his head. The brawler snapped his jaws a few times to get feeling back as he looked around. Selphie woke up looking refreshed, which slightly miffed Leon because his entire body was aching from the fall.

"The heck… whew, I must have been damn tired." Zell stretched his arms and back while yawning.

Selphie rubbed her eyes in a very childlike manner while yawning cutely, "That was some nap… and that dream was so weird."

"Hm, couldn't be weirder than the one I had." Zell quibbled while cleaning his ear with his pinky.

Selphie looked blankly at him, "Not that it is a competition or anything, but I would say a white girl having to become a black guy is pretty weird."

"Hmm, there was a black guy in my dream too, but he was a buddy of the guy I was dreaming of… huge white guy with a big ass… um… what do you call it?" Zell rubbed his chin while the other two stared at him wide eyed.

Leon finished his thought, "…A harpoon?"

"That's it! A harpoon… wait, how did you know?" Zell pointed at Leon accusingly while shaking a bit.

"Idiot, we obviously all just had the same dream! What the heck could that even mean though…?" Selphie pondered out loud while rubbing her upper arms with her hands to warm them.

"It doesn't matter… whatever it was, it was probably just a dream. We have a mission to attend to, and our stop is coming up if my watch is correct. Gather yourselves and be ready to move out in… twenty minutes." Leon ordered before looking over at Naruto who was still asleep, "And Zell… wake his ass up, please."

Zell looked over at Naruto and suddenly he wore a very malicious grin, "Sir… yes sir…"

* * *

Fifteen minutes after the rest of the team came to, Naruto was leaving the Mindscape. Having slept his way there instead of meditating, he felt really good. That was the kind of rest people had fantasies about. His body was so relaxed from his hair follicles right down to his toes. Opening his eyes he saw the pleasant cabin he had entered before with his friends. Everyone was up, at least they were likely up considering they weren't in the room. Checking the time he had five minutes to get up and around and be ready to disembark. He brought his hand up to his face to cover a yawn, and that was when he noticed his hand was dripping. Looking down, he saw a small bowl of room temperature water.

' _That's odd…'_

Naruto stood up slowly making sure not to tip the water bowl. Stretching his arms above his head, he suddenly noticed an itching sensation down below. Looking around and seeing no Selphie nearby he knew it was safe to jostle his jimmies. Unfortunately, as his finger tips touched the bits box, they became very wet and very warm. This caused him to freeze and then look at the bowl of warm water. Then he looked at his still wet hand… and then to his newly wet other hand. And then a scent touched his nose and he growled.

"Zell!"

* * *

A breeze kicked up as the train pulled away from the small station platform on Timber's Balamb express line. Several passangers quickly dispersed throughout the area heading for the residential and shopping districts. The only people not wandering off were four teenagers standing near the steps of the platform talking amongst themselves… well one of them was talking. And he was not pleased…

"I swear to God man… that was so uncool." Naruto complained for maybe the fifteenth time as he readjusted his freshly changed pants, "Do you realize how much work goes into strapping half of this stuff on? And I only had five minutes to change!"

"That's enough Naruto; it is clear to all of us that Zell has no intention of apologizing… just get him back later." Leon huffed while Zell yelped from behind him.

Naruto peeked around the broad shoulder of Leon to look at Zell with narrowed eyes before slowly moving back to vanish behind their leader, making the guy shiver a little in fear. Naruto seemed pleased so Leon left them to sort out their issues while he scanned the area for anyone acting a little too normal. As far as e could see, the place was deserted. While he wasn't looking, a slightly shorter male wandered up to the group from behind a closed pet shop kiosk. Zell, Selphie and Naruto eyed the guy while silently sweating. Each of them was wondering why the guy was being so obvious…

Leon turned around in time to find a strange young man with a blue skull cap, brown winter vest with a white under shirt, and jeans standing in their midst. He tried to appear nonchalant, but was only drawing more attention with his fidgeting. When he finally spoke, it was with a surprisingly respectful tone that left no room to argue over whether this man was good natured or a troublemaker.

"Ahem… uh… wait how did it… oh right… The uh… mm, the forests sure have changed, eh sir?"

Leon stared blankly at this man with a look that served to make him very nervous. The man wanted to leave the scene, but he kept in place as ordered. It wouldn't do to displease the princess! And the boss would kill him too… Why wouldn't darky here say anything?

Leon decided he had let the man sweat enough, and then sighed before speaking, "Yeah, but the Owls are still around."

The fidgeting man calmed almost instantly, and even wiped the sweat from his brow with a dramatic wave of his arm. Naruto saw this and wanted to high five the weirdo for such flamboyant behavior, but there was work to be done. The man shuffled about a bit, peeking around corners and checking behind things. When the coast was clear, or rather that was what the team assumed he was checking, he waved them back to the train platform. Leon led the team up to the platform walking casually to make up for the strange man's odd behavior. As soon as they were all gathered around the platform, an old model luxury train came rushing down the tracks. The thing was very unassuming in the design with a color that could easily go unnoticed in a train yard. The front engine passed by before slowing to allow the passenger car to stop directly beside them.

"All a-board, sir!" The man whispered urgently.

Leon gave his team a nod before heading into the train car. Zell was next and soon after that Selphie climbed on. The last of course was Naruto who had been distracted by the sight of frilly curtains in one of the upper floor windows of the train car. At the urging gestures of the man in the tan life preserver in front of him he shrugged and hopped on. The man heaved a sigh as he relaxed, his job done… and the train was pulling away without him! He ran after the train trying not to yell and draw attention… not that he didn't draw plenty from the few people on the streets.

* * *

Naruto looked around the very cramped room the team had entered and realized the structure inside had been modified, maybe even customized. The little room they were in was made of a very generic colorless steel with only four doors, and a stairwell leading upstairs to the living quarters, as indicated by small signs with crudely drawn arrows. The whole thing seemed like a mix between a well organized group… and the little rascals. Standing by the corner with a waste bin behind him was a man in shorts and a navy blue sweat shirt, his dark brown hair was spiked back, and his forehead was glistening with sweat from… God knows what. He wore a pleasant smile, and waved to he group in a friendly manner.

"Hello! I am glad to see you all, SeeD Agents. I hope there wasn't any trouble getting here?" His voice wasn't very firm, or authoritative, but he did have the kind of charisma to be a greeter or hype man.

Leon stepped forward, "Nothing we couldn't handle. Your man met us as soon as we arrived. I am Squall, this is Zell, Selphie, and Naruto." Each member of the team waved or nodded, and of course Naruto brought up a peace sign while grinning like a fool.

"Good to make your acquaintance! Call me Zone, I am the leader of this little group. We call ourselves the Forest Owls. You met our super secret information specialist Watts… er, where is he?" Zone looked around the group before sighing softly, "God damn it Watts… what did I tell you about messing around when the train is leaving?"

"Not to, Sir…!" Watts suddenly burst in through the door opposite the door the team entered through, his clothes moist and his breathing coming in haggard panting.

Zone didn't even give him a second glance as he kept on, "There are four others, but two of them are out gathering intelligence, one is driving, and the other is… taking a small rest."

"Taking a small rest… do you mean a nap?" Leon asked while narrowing his eyes.

Zone groaned as his stomach flipped, and he turned to heave over his waste bin. The sound was nauseating in and of itself, but this man seemed determined to vomit, which he did… Selphie very nearly smacked him for his behavior in front of them. Leon was palming his face in self pity.

' _This is not the first mission I had envisioned to kick start my career…'_

Zone recovered quickly enough and turned to face the team again, his face surprisingly clean, "The uh… Princess is asleep in her private cabin right now. She should have woken up by now, but she had a very long night the other night making her way back to Timber from Balamb, especially having to be so discreet."

"Why is it always princesses and trains?" Naruto piped up from the peanut gallery to no one in particular.

Zone eyed the young man with the odd hue of blonde hair before shaking off his thoughts and looking at Leon, "You seem to be the team leader so I will leave it to you to go and fetch her. She will be pleased to see her SeeD have arrived."

Leon crossed his arms, "Are… are you serious? Why don't you go get her?"

Zone lifted his hand up to rebut, but then his stomach let loose a hearty snarl before he was forced to kneel beside his trusty waste bin again. Seeing the man crumple on himself again, as well as Watts rushing to aid his leader with soothing back rubs, Leon groaned lowly before heading off and up the stairs. The team took to finding a comfortable spot to wait while their leader got acquainted with this so called 'princess.' Zell took up position shadow boxing in a corner to loosen up his tight muscles. Selphie, as the train aficionado of their team, was happy to stay by the door and peer out the one-way glass at the landscape outside. Naruto took up position by Zone and Watts and decided to talk a bit with the weirdoes.

"Hey, Zone my man, what the hell are you guys anyway?"

Zone perked up when he heard the question and when he turned away from his bin he had a fire in his eyes, "We are the Forest Owls, a resistance group working to liberate Timber from Galbadian oppression! Founded by two of the greatest men of Timber, my father and his best friend, Watts' father, the two of us took over control after their execution under the orders of the president of Galbadia himself! We will liberate beautiful Timber from the bastards of Galbadia at any cost!"

"I thought I saw a lot of the bastards in blue wandering around. So Timber wasn't always owned by Galbadia?" Naruto added, now interested in learning a little more about his clients.

"Timber was once a proud and noble City-state that shone as a beacon in the global market for it's fine wood, carpentry, and charcoal. Some time after the end of the Second Sorceress War, roughly 18 years ago, Galbadia stormed our city and forced our complete surrender. We lost our identity, our freedom, and soon enough the beautiful forests that we once kept proud and lush were torn away to fuel the Galbadian machine. They have forced our hand and we will see our people free once again." Zone spoke with a pride that almost made the man glow, and the story moved Watts to tears as he cried into his arm to the side in a very comical fashion.

Naruto's face grew serious as he considered what the man was saying. It reminded him so much of those people… He couldn't look Zone in the eye as he spoke, "Are you ready for the consequences of your actions?"

Zone and Watts looked at the young blonde with quizzical expressions, "What do you mean, Sir?" Watts asked after a long minute of silence.

"You want to make a difference… you want to make a change for your people. I get that, and I support you one hundred percent, even if I wasn't being paid. I just wonder though… how six people hope to bring that change. And then, should they fail, are they ready for the consequences that the people will face? I don't know the objective yet, but if you hired SeeD then I am guessing it is serious… if it fails, Timber will suffer for it. Are you ready to see the people put in that position? Are you ready to submit your friends and neighbors to Galbadian fury?" Naruto never rose his voice or put any venom behind his words, but that took nothing away from the very deep message he was trying to convey.

By this point all eyes were on Naruto, including a set of blue and a set of green that had been distracted until his impassioned speech. Watts and Zone then looked at their feet, a mix of emotions rushing through their faces. A few moments later, Zone looked up and his stomach whined loudly, but instead of rushing to his waste bin he held his right hand over his stomach and gripped his shirt. With an intense look in his eyes he spoke with conviction and purpose.

"We will not fail. We will do whatever it takes, and we will liberate our people, and no one will suffer under Galbadian boot heels anymore. But should we fail, it will be in such a blaze of defiance that Galbadia herself will feel the heat of our passing… for Timber!"

Zone and Watts both cheered with their left hands up in the air, their right hands over their hearts in clenched fists. Naruto couldn't help the grin that spread across his face, and just like that he knew these knuckleheads had the right stuff. Zell and Selphie smiled as well at the display of courage and pride the two men put forth. Even the man at the wheel in the engine car must have felt the inspiration the two of them were exuding, because a moment later the horn blew loud and long.

"That's what I wanted to hear! You can count on us, Zone. Garden won't stop until we see your dream come true!" Naruto cheered right along while puffing out his chest an pounding it with his right fist.

Leon returned about the time everyone had started cheering, and he nearly palmed his face at the exuberance everyone was showing. He stepped aside of the door to let the supposed princess enter the room, and said young woman was beaming when she saw how excited her fellow freedom fighters were. When Naruto acknowledge the two who entered, he waved and then suddenly blinked. There was the raven haired cutie that had been seeing Seifer early the previous month before the exams and everything. The two exchanged a look, and then he walked over and grabbed her in a big bear hug. She gasped and giggled loudly as the taller blonde picked her up and spun her around.

"Oh wow Rinnie, I didn't know the client would be you! Aww man, I would have totally brought some of those biscuits for Angelo!" Naruto smiled as he set the girl down only to give her a gentle noogie on the head.

The young woman, 'Rinnie,' batted his ands away as she fixed her blue rib-knit buster sweater and black tank top. Her denim skirt and biker shorts were quickly adjusted as well before she looked at Naruto with her hands behind her back, rocking gently back and forth on her black boots, "Surprise! You have no idea how bad I wanted to tell you I would be requesting you for this mission with the others! Cid told me he would consider it, since he wasn't sure he would be able to manage sending a team of more than three. "

Leon had been silent through all of this nonsense, but something was nagging at him so he had to interrupt, "Excuse me but… it would seem the two of you know each other better than just that brief meeting at the Ball… you know, when you threw me onto the dance floor like a show dog…"

Naruto chuckled while hugging the girl in a brotherly one armed snuggle, "This little devil? We knew each other from about… a month before the ball. She was hanging around my dorm a lot and we clicked! She is so spunky once she gets to know ya." Naruto turned to the entire Balamb team, "For those of you who don't know, this cutie is Rinoa Heartilly, my unofficial little sister. She can argue all she wants, but I adopted her. Now she is my sweet little sister and I am going to be the very overbearing and protective big brother that I kind of sort of always wanted to be."

The now named Rinoa sighed in an overly dramatic way with a big grin plastered on her face to give away her amusement, "Pleased to meet you all. I'm the official strategist of our resistance group."

"Wait… so then… did you two plan that… incident at the Ball?" Leon asked, his eyes shadowed by his bangs.

Naruto had the decency to look embarrassed as he rubbed the back of his head, "Well I mean… she has a thing for… guys with big swords… so… **ow!** "

"Pervert…" Selphie grumbled as she rubbed her knuckle and Naruto rubbed his head wondering what he had said.

Zell was suffering a strong bout of allergic reaction in the corner as he stifled his laughter and a very small nose bleed. Leon was slowly leaving a permanent mark on the wall where he was banging his forehead against the strong steel. Rinoa laughed lightly, a rather large drip of sweat on her forehead.

Zone spoke up then, "Now that we are all here, perhaps it would be a good idea to head into the War Room and discuss our plans?"

"I agree, we should get right to business." Leon agreed while rubbing the red mark on his forehead, which made Rinoa giggle a little.

* * *

The Forest Owls War Room was a thing of beauty with an arrangement of ordered chaos that would send an OCD patient to the ER. What windows there were had been covered by thick blinds casting thin lines of light across the floors. Fluorescent lights were hanging from the ceiling hovering over two tables, one of which had a scale model of the Timber countryside with working model trains. Several file cabinets lined the side walls and a cork board took up most of the back wall with dozens of clippings from local newspapers and other publications, all about Galbadia. Naruto took up a spot near the back leaning on a wall with Zell not too far from him in the opposite corner. Selphie stood to his right peeking through the blinds, showing slight disappointment that the train had stopped and wasn't giving her a moving view of the area. Leon was one of the last people in, so he was stuck dead center with Zone in front of him and Watts by his side. Rinoa stood by the door and next to the table model by a control remote.

Zone cleared his throat, "Now… today, The Forest Owls will make their mark on the history of Timber and the world at large! And it is all thanks to our dedication, vigilance, and the hard work of our intelligence team."

"That's me, sir!" Watts chimed in, earning a small glare from Zone.

The brunette insurrectionist leader didn't let the little interruption stall him, "We have learned through tireless efforts that Galbadia will be sending someone through the area today. Who is this someone? A VIP, that is who…"

"Super V-I-P, sir!" Watts piped in again with a very knowing grin.

Looking only mildly irritated, Zone quickly ended the suspense by revealing the truth, "The man they are sending through the area is none other than… the infamous… despicable… heartless… evil…"

"For the love of God, get on with it!" Zell burst out while shaking his fist toward their client menacingly.

Zone lurched and looked for his secondary bucket, but he only found a recycling bin, "This bin is a bin of lies…"

Naruto gave the man a soothing pat on the back, "Take it easy guy, he is just a little hot headed sometimes… and impatient. Take a deep breath and continue."

Zone gave the sunshine blonde a grateful nod before breathing deeply to let out all the negative feelings, "The man we are after is Vinzer Deling, President of Galbadia and our arch nemesis."

Everyone was silent for a moment while they took in this information. It was Naruto who broke he silence while looking at Rinoa, "Rinnie, is he serious?"

Watts, who had been idly staring at a copy of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, mumbled quietly, "Dead Sirius, sir."

While Leon, Zell, Selphie, and Rinoa all face palmed simultaneously in their own unique ways, Zone cleared his throat, "Ahem… as I was saying… we have devised a plan to corner the President by hijacking his private train car currently en route to this location."

Selphie fist pumped while smirking, "And you plan on blowing it up with some super awesome explosives?!"

Watts and Zone nearly fell over in shock while both yelped out a frantic, "No!"

Rinoa jumped in to save her comrades dignity, "We want to have a face to face chat with our dear president and see if we can negotiate peacefully for Timber's independence."

"This is all well and good, but how the hell do you expect to hijack an entire presidential train? Don't they have like, three or four security cars? And the presidential car is no doubt packed with guards!" Zell griped while trying to wrap his head around their goals.

Naruto spoke up then to answer his blonde buddy, "Judging by the model they have set, I reckon we aren't taking the whole train… just one car."

Rinoa smiled as she danced a little on the spot, "Exactly, Naru! I'll let Zone explain the plan while I help demonstrate."

Everyone gathered around the model while Rinoa set up the small trains. Zone began speaking right away to get things rolling so they wouldn't miss their window of opportunity.

"As you can see here by the model, we will start here. The tracks we are currently on run parallel to the tracks our reports have said the President will be taking. The Presidential train will be comprised of five cars. The engine at the front, the service car that provides food and drink, the first Security Car, The Presidential Car, and the final car will be the second Security Car. Informants from the inside have sent word that the second Security Car will be better equipped than the First due to their position at the rear. We have also been informed that Vinzer has a very strict 'no guards allowed' policy for his private car, as well as a phobia of scanning equipment. Cocky prick…"

Rinoa indicated each car with a laser pointer so that the team could follow along easily with the briefing. After the pieces had been properly labeled, she started up the simulation at a quarter speed to match Zone's speech,

"First, your SeeD team will board the train by way of leaping from the roof of our fake Presidential car, which is here… thank you Princess… to the roof of their second Security Car here. Move quietly as you can because that Security Car is outfitted with sound and heat sensors. Making too much noise will alert the guards below and you will be compromised. Once you are passed the second Security Car, move passed the Presidential Car to the first Security Car. You will have to uncouple the cars by manually overriding the locking mechanism. If you succeed in time the Presidential and second Security Cars will slow down enough so that when we reach this track junction here, we can quickly slip over, slow down to couple with the Presidential Car, and then speed up enough to couple the dummy car to the first Security Car."

Rinoa smiled as her little train set performed the demonstration perfectly for the team to watch. Little did she know, four sets of eyes were staring at one particular train car on the model that had to be the ugliest thing anyone had ever seen.

"As quickly as you can, you must make your way back to he second Security car and uncouple it from the Presidential Car. There will be patrols with sensor equipment on board. According to our reports there will be a sound sensor that can be avoided by simply remaining as still as possible. Our people inside have confirmed that soldiers in blue will be responsible for such low grade tech. The real trouble is the Elite G-Soldiers, the boys in red, who will be packing the heat sensors. Your only bet here is to have eyes up at all times and watch for movement in the windows. The Sensors will need a clear vision range to work right, so if you see them heading your way you high tail your ass back to the roof.

Once you have completed the last uncoupling we will disconnect from our dummy car and maintain a quick enough speed to sling shot the final car straight into the dummy car which will be set up to auto lock as soon as a coupling is detected. We use a junction here to do this, and as long as we time it just right, we are home free. We circle around and find a good spot to confront Deling and make our demands. Success!"

Zell lifted his hand up casually and gave a nod when he was acknowledged, "Okay, I get the 'on paper' part of this. Now, how do we override the coupling locks? Those things are supposed to be very well designed, and I am betting no expenses are spared for a Presidential train like this."

Watts perked up, "I think I can explain, sir! Our intelligence team sent us the maintenance codes to override the coupling locks using the manual switch boxes near the front and rear of each car. In this instance, you will have to override the locks on the Security Cars on both accounts. Princess will be keeping the codes, and she will relay them to your team using a secure radio channel established before we move out."

Rinoa slid a small remote over to Leon who caught it and eyed the odd key pad with colored shapes labeled with numbers, "That's what the switch panels will look like. Each code is a series of four numbers that correspond to those shapes. Several codes are programmed into that remote for you to practice with before we begin. Who ill be the brave Agents in charge of climbing down and entering the codes?"

"I'll handle that, I have the best balance and stealth skills on the team." Naruto volunteered while looking to his team leader.

Leon thought on it for a few moments before giving a firm nod, "Very well, good call Naruto." Leon handed he blonde the remote so he could get in some practice.

As the two groups settled down to concentrate on their duties, the train lurched and moved along the tracks. Selphie was practically giddy and already peering out of the train at the passing landscape. Zone looked around at everyone and suddenly felt his stomach cramp up severly, and he had to secure a regular trash bin for his medicinal purposes. Rinoa sighed as she shook her head.

"Looks like out window of opportunity is close, so I want everyone in position within five minutes. Squall, have your team outfitted with the radios and up top as soon as possible. And good luck Naru, I will be right there with you giving you those codes." Rinoa said with a forced smile as she left them to prepare.

Leon gathered up the four proffered radios and handed them out, they were simple but efficient radios with a fair range and background noise blocking tech.

"Zell, you are our front man on this mission. I want your eyes on those Elites and nothing else. They even scratch their rear while visible I want to be aware of it. Selphie, the same for you on the blues. They might be lower ranked, but they are quicker and have less armor to worry about getting in their way. Your speed and perception will be key to stalking them at each turn. I will be the back line keeping my eyes open for any activity between the cars. We don't need any soldiers passing between cars as we uncouple the train. Naruto, I understand you volunteered for this, but there isn't any shame in backing out. I am more than confident in my own ability to complete the override procedure."

Naruto took his ear piece and slipped it in, changing the channel with a few clicks, "You worry too much, Leon. This is the kind of thing I was trained for: espionage. No need to take the burden all on yourself, you know? Besides, you will have your hands full keeping the face to face chat from becoming a fist to fist bar fight. These guys don't seem emotionally stable…"

Leon considered his thoughts and nodded his agreement. The Forest Owls were trying to do the right thing, but they seemed driven by their negative emotions rather than their goals. The only one who seemed normal was Rinoa… but she was another kind of weird. The stoic remembered back to the embarrassing moment when he was sent to wake her… she had practically tackled him to the floor with an unwelcome hug. Normal people didn't go around showing that kind of affection to people they hardly knew… except maybe Naruto… but he was even less impulsive than the girl had been. Or maybe he just didn't like hugs? Why was he even thinking about something so trivial?

* * *

 **Hope everyone enjoys this as much as I did while writing it. Stay frosty my friends. Love you senpais!**

 **Question:**

 **How do you like the interaction between Naruto and Rinoa (considering their rough start that first night they met XD)?**


	12. Chapter 12 Timber Take-Down!

**"Fear me for I am le big, and I crave that which lies between the thighs of those who truck their mothers!"**

* * *

 **Chapter:**

 **Timber Take-Down!**

* * *

Uzumaki Naruto felt the wind whipping through his messy locks of sunshine hair as he eyed the rapidly approaching train that carried the man named Vinzer Deling. He was currently perched like a gargoyle on top of a shoddy replica of the President's private traveling car. He took the first position with Zell and Selphie lined up behind him, and Leon was bringing up the rear. The rushing wind made it difficult to keep his eyes on the target and he idly wished he had the goggles he had always worn as a kid. Looking back towards the team, he saw Leon hold up a hand sign gesturing to begin the countdown. Naruto gave a nod and let his mind tick away from ten seconds. The two sets of tracks would have a window of one minute where they would be close enough to land a leap over to the enemy transport.

When his mental clock struck ten he saw the train below them while the rebel base climbed a small hill giving them the cover of high ground. Naruto used magic to leap quickly over and land with as little sound as possible. Turning, he waited for his team to make their jumps. Zell used the strong muscles of his legs to jump over to the enemy train. Naruto helped stop his momentum so the guy wouldn't stumble off the other side. When he was secure he gave the okay signal for Selphie to hop over. While the young woman lacked physical strength, she was of course excellent with her spells. Using a Float spell, she got the lift she needed to make the jump and land like a gentle feather. They had very little time left in their window and Leon had no intention of missing the train. The leader took a few steps back and then ran for his jump, taking off just before a cluster of trees would have blocked his path. He landed roughly, which caused the group to freeze up in case the sound sensors went off.

…Nothing.

Leon heaved a sigh that went unheard over the roar of the wind. The team followed a single-file line down the train trying to muffle their movements as much as possible. As they passed the limit of the sensor perception Naruto brought his hand up to his mic and pressed on the outgoing audio button.

"Phase one is complete Princess, moving to phase two. Reaching the minute mark in thirty seconds." Naruto spoke clearly as he passed the midway mark of the Presidential Car.

"Good work, remember we have a window of opportunity of five minutes before things become more complicated. I have the codes set and ready on your mark, over." Rinoa replied over the radio, her voice trembling from the adrenaline she was no doubt struggling with.

As Naruto found the service ladder of the first Security Car he quickly took up position at the top to allow the team to move further. Zell gave him a thumb up gesture before he and Selphie took up look out positions above the windows. Once both of them had taken prone positions above the windows, they used mirrors to get a view inside the train. Naruto climbed down the ladder while Leon took p position over the connection between cars for any patrols moving up and down the train.

* * *

Meanwhile, inside the first Security Car, two lower ranked Galbadian soldiers in blue sat at one of the booths playing a game of cards while the others took their shifts at the windows. The car had been a dining car before being modified by the military to serve as a mobile security unit for long distance travel. The game had been going smoothly between the pair with neither gaining the upper hand. The one with a beard peeking out under the visor of his mask spoke up suddenly as he set his cards face down on the table between them,

"You know Jo, I got this weird feeling…"

Jo groaned softly, "Shut that scruffy trap of yours Dan, I don't want to hear about your heebie jeebies again. It's been a long enough trip as it is without your yapping."

Dan grumbled about hairless bastard babies, "I'm just saying… something feels off. Like, someone is watching us. And that weird train we saw earlier was moving awfully suspiciously."

"Dan, I swear to God, if you don't shut up with your suspicious crap I will stab you. I have done it before." Jo drew a card and smirked as he put down his collection of four aces.

Dan cursed and threw his cards down in the most sportsmen like fashion, "It wasn't my fault Major Biggs sent us to the top of that tower to clear out the gutters."

Jo eyed him from behind his mask, "'Oh Jo, we should speak to the Major, I have a bad feeling something is up there!' That sound familiar to you, jackass?"

Dan was about to respond when there was a heavy bump that jostled their car. He panicked and looked around frantically while everyone else watched him with confused and worried expressions. He hyperventilated as he tried to get out of his seat to go explore the train in search of the bumping, but Jo grabbed him by the back of his collar and held him back with little effort. Dan kicked and screamed as he tried to escape and his buddy sighed heavily.

"Sometimes you make me regret marrying your sister…"

* * *

Up top, Zell and Selphie quickly moved along the train making quick but careful steps. Leon once again brought up the rear, waiting patiently for Naruto to climb back up. When the blonde was out of immediate danger, he gave Leon a nod before moving along as well. The walk was smooth across the dummy car and the rebel base, and then they had to be stealthy and quiet above the President in his private car again. Ahead, Zell waved to the two of them and then his voice rang through the radios.

"Hostiles in the second Security Car are on high alert after the rough connection base made. Won't be able to move along and keep watch without triggering the sound sensors."

Naruto crept along while bringing his hand up to his radio, "Copy that, we'll just have to be extra cautious and work as quickly as we can."

Behind him, Leon spoke through the radios, "Zell, Selphie, pull back to the Presidential Car and keep an eye on the doors. If he leaves that car for any reason we will have to abort and move out. Acknowledge?"

"We got it, moving now." Selphie answered back for the two of them and they worked their way by Naruto and Leon, the two blondes sharing a quiet knuckle bump.

With Leon up top he slowly lowered himself between the two cars with Selphie watching him as he went from her position up top. He would have his back against the solid outer wall of the real Presidential Car so he could get a small view into the second Security car through a set of blinds installed on the window of the gangway door. It wasn't much, but it would be all the warning they could get while Naruto was hanging on the side of the train playing Simon Says with the manual override panel. Said ex-shinobi was already by the panel with the cover opened and awaiting the codes. Rinoa was working as quickly as she could with the paperwork on her side.

"Naru, I have the first set. 1-4-4-2… second set is… 2-2-3-1…" Rinoa's voice whispered through the radio and his fingers worked as quickly as she spoke.

Leon could see red moving swiftly toward the gangway door and he used his finger to rapidly press on his radio to create a form of static pulse. Naruto heard the signal interruptions and quickly swung his body to the side out of range of the window near the service ladder with his back secured to the wall between cars cater-corner from Leon. Leon gaped as the guy seemed to… stick to the wall rather than cling, as if covered in glue. He had no time to contemplate this as he saw the sensor soldier walking away again toward the back end of the train. He gave Naruto a stiff nod before watching the blonde swing back out onto the service ladder. Leon glanced up at Selphie who was peering down from her perch, but she too wore a shocked look.

Rinoa's voice whispered through the radios again, "Everyone grab onto something and be clear of the Security cars. Naru, we will separate on your mark."

Naruto could be seen climbing up the ladder quickly before his shadow leapt over the gap between cars. His gloved hand speared down to offer Leon an assist. The stoic gladly took hold and was yanked rather unexpectedly to the top of the train. Naruto wore a grin before pressing on his radio, "All clear, phase five go."

* * *

"You guys hear about what Dan was doing a few minutes ago?" A rather unassuming soldier in blue asked his fellow guards in the sensor unit.

The Elite in charge huffed as he adjusted his bulky arm guards, "Doesn't matter, everyone knows the guy is the most jumpy son of a bitch in the military."

Several boys in blue nodded their agreement while the original rubbed his chin, "I know… but you know, he has normally been pretty spot on with his hunches. You reckon we should head over and see just what got him spooked?"

The Elite walked up to him and poked his visor with one of the heat sensors, "Sure Rodriguez, you go ahead on down there. When President Deling has you tied to a bunch of horses and torn into guacamole for invading his private quarters just to go check out the guard freaking out in SC-1, I don't want your wife coming to me to find out why her husband is a fucking idiot!"

Of the faceless blue boys in back whispered over to his buddy, "I wouldn't mind Rodriguez wife coming over to my place…"

A gloved fist connected to heavy arm guards slammed into the face of the young soldier who spoke in whispers, "I'll have none of my soldiers acting like fucking perverts in my unit, is that clear!?"

Everyone saluted their commander with a collective, "SIR, YESSIR!"

"Good, now if you sorry sacks of baby nappies are done toying with your soldiers for five minutes you could use the equipment we spent thousand of Gil training your asses to use to keep our President safe!" The Elite slammed his boot down on the floor just as the whole train car shook violently, and everyone got right the fuck to work.

The commander turned and looked around at the fools as they scanned every window, every door, and even the floors and ceilings with the kind of vigor that would make any superior officer proud, but he could only wonder when the hell he got strong enough to make an entire train car shake like that…

* * *

Naruto sat with his legs folded as he watched the train full of incompetent soldiers slowly vanish behind hills and trees while the rebels below took a side route to hide somewhere outside the city of Timber. Leon and the team had already gone down below to rest up after the stress of the grab and switch maneuver. Naruto remembered the questioning look on Leon's face when he saw him clinging to the train with his magic and he wasn't looking forward to explaining that to the others. Zell was already aware of his ability to stick to things, though the boy with more brawn than brains had understood only that it was magic. Leon would not be satisfied with the excuse he gave Zell, and Leon wasn't someone Naruto felt he could trust with the full truth… not yet.

As he sat thinking alone with the cool air whipping around his head he closed his eyes and let his mind wander to try and get his mind off the inevitable questioning. He tried thinking about his life before coming to Gaia… and he couldn't remember the faces of his old team. That was odd… he could remember that one was a boy… and one was a girl… then he thought again and concluded that there were two girls on his team. He could remember pretending to like one of them… while he truthfully hated them both. Or did he? Of course he did, his anger would rise whenever he thought about them… but why? And why couldn't he stop thinking about ducks' asses?

He could remember every detail about his first human teacher… the tall man with the silver hair and the deceptive smiling eyes. He remembered the pride he felt whenever that man taught him, and the joy when he got the rare praise. Their time together was brief and sporadic, but what time they did share had left a lasting mark that Naruto would never forget. However… there were so many faces and names that he did forget, it was honestly concerning him. He remembered platinum blonde hair that shined in the sun… he remembered a nice guy with a rotund belly… he remembered a blind girl.

' _Kyu, are you there?'_ Naruto called into his mind, half expecting no response.

It took only a moment before the familiar rough voice of his oldest friend spoke to him, _**"Of course I am brat, where else do I have to go?"**_

' _If you're going to bitch and moan then go back to sleep, lazy bastard…'_ Naruto frowned.

" _ **Hmm, not in the mood for jokes I see… is something wrong, little brother?"**_ Kyu remained calm, understanding the tone of Naruto's thoughts to mean he was distressed.

Naruto sighed, _'Sorry Kyu… my mind isn't working properly right now… literally. I am worried… certain memories of the past are slipping away and it has only been a little over a month since I left that life behind. I can't explain it… but all I can remember are faces, and even those are slowly dying. I remember Kakashi, and the old man… and Granny… and the perverted bastard… and my parents. Everyone else is falling away into the darkness and I am worried about what else I will forget. I know that I can remember my own name, and everything new that I learn is sticking like glue… and all of my abilities come to me as if they are a part of me… but the memories linked to my emotions are what seem to be going._

 _I don't want to forget my precious people. I don't want to forget the lessons that I learned along the way. They make me who I am… Kyu, what if I forget about what you and I went through? What if I forget everything that you've done for me? What if… I forget about you?'_

The two of them sat in silence for a while as both contemplated what Naruto had implied. Kyu had never considered the idea of it, never wondered how things would be different if he hadn't spoken to Naruto all those years ago. Naruto always talked about how Kyu had saved his life and given him the strength to survive when he had no one. To Naruto, his big brother fox was a hero worthy of ten thousand songs, something that had been hilarious when the boy was younger and tried to improvise several songs for him. Now, as he watched over the little human and listened to his worries, he knew that their time together had saved him too. The thought of losing those memories with the little shit stain was as frightening as Naruto made it sound with his desperate voice.

" _ **We cannot choose what we forget as life takes out hands and guides us down the mysterious paths we must walk. We can however do our very best to remember what is important. Perhaps you should consider following in your master's footsteps and become a writer. His only real work of genius inspired your name, Naruto. You brought that vision of his hero to life by being the gutsiest shinobi to come out of that hell hole Konoha. Share your stories… write about your life and teach others the lessons you have learned, so that you can hold onto those precious memories while inspiring people to follow your example.**_

 _ **And Naruto… perhaps it is your destiny to forget how we met, and our stuggles… perhaps you need to let go of the shadowed past that you carry on your shoulders so that you can start fresh. You have said it yourself that coming to Gaia had given you the chance to change and be yourself. So, do it and create new memories. And I can help you start on that path right now. It is time that you know me, truly know me. When I was much younger I had a name, but I abandoned it after I let my hatred consume me. Much like you, I became what others saw in me, hiding behind the mask of evil that eventually became who I was. Thanks to you, I am now confident that I can be myself… be the me that my father wanted me to be.**_

 _ **I am Kurama, the nine-tailed fox Guardian of Gaia, overseer of forbidden magic. Who are you, little human?"**_

Naruto let his head fall forward a bit as the shadow of his hair hid his eyes away. Visions of his past that hadn't faded flashed through his mind. And then the sadness he had felt washed away, leaving only darkness… the hurtful words of the girl with the glowing hair… gone. His team, those two girls… the fight that nearly took his life…gone. The harsh words and glares of the people he fought for… vanished. Soon enough the only memories he could summon up were of his family… the hip older brother that Kakashi had become… the kindly grandfather that the old man had been… the strict aunt Tsunade had become during their short time together… He stopped associating them with an old life in another world, and just embraced them for the people they were. Konoha… not the people in it… was where he came from. With those final thoughts he lifted his face to the sky with a happy grin even as tears wet his cheeks.

Speaking out loud even though he didn't need to, Kurama could still hear him loud and clear, "I am Uzumaki Naruto, former shinobi of Konoha, former student of Hatake Kakashi, Guardian Enforcer of Gaia, son of Uzumaki Kushina and Namikaze Minato, and little brother of Kurama."

* * *

Leon was leaning on the table with the now inactive model set up on top eyeing the wall with intense eyes. The mission had gone flawlessly so far with no setbacks. The idiot brigade was currently working out their methods of questioning upstairs in the privacy of Rinoa's cabin. Zell and Selphie were relaxing near the back of the War Room far enough away so that he could barely hear them over the workings of the train. The only one not available was the subject of his ire. Naruto had yet to return to the interior of the train instead opting to lounge on the top of the moving vehicle. There were several questions he wanted answered… one of which was why the hell he was sitting on top of a speeding train?!

As if on cue, the blonde suddenly walked into the War Room and sauntered over to one of the file cabinets along the left wall. Leon walked over to the door and slammed it shut tight, locking the deadbolt as well as placing a chair against the knob. When he turned, three sets of wide eyes were lockd onto him, but he wasn't concerned with that in the slightest. He walked over to Naruto and grabbed him by the collar of his shit, and then he dragged him over to the others and shoved him hard enough against the corkboard that several newspaper clippings fell to the floor. Leon could tell Naruto wasn't resisting and while that made this easier it kind of pissed him off.

Naruto leaned back against the corkboard with his hands flat against the rough surface. Zell and Selphie both wanted to intervene in the rough man handling, but a reassuring glance from Naruto had them second guessing. Leon was well aware of these brief exchanges, and as team leader it infuriated him that the three of them were communicating so well while he was left in he dark. Stemming his rage enough to hold a conversation… or interrogation in this case… he looked Naruto in the eye. Brown met blue, and then Leon spoke lowly.

"You have a lot of secrets, Uzumaki. I want some answers right now, and if I don't like them so help me you will be sent back to Garden in pieces. As cock and ballsy as this whole mission has been so far, I am not about to put our lives on the line when we have a potential spy in our midst. And the first thing I want to know is how the hell you know our client so well."

Naruto heaved a heavy sigh as the question met his ears. Truth be told he didn't want to answer this question because it felt like he was violating Rinoa's privacy… but Leon wasn't having any bullshit right now by the look in his eyes. Gathering his thoughts, he tried to be as discreet as possible with her information while being open with his own.

"Okay, Rinnie and I met at the time I joined Garden. Our first little meeting didn't go over well, and she was a bit scared of me. See… I ran into her and her boy friend at the time trying to have a bit of alone time. I wasn't in the best of moods at the time… and I may have lashed out at them with my frustration. The guy was a random Cadet who thought he was big shit at the time, things got loud, I made threats… you know, that whole cherry pie. Anyway, after that I felt pretty guilty about the lousy first impression I made, and when I found out she was spending a week at the Garden I decided to try and make amends. At first it was touch and go since she felt I might attack her, but I made sure to reiterate over and over again that she was safe and that I never hurt innocent people.

About mid-week the two of us met up just outside my old dorm, and her boy toy was off with his friends at the time, so I invited her in and we finally got to have a proper sit down. We talked for about… I would like to think it was five hours… and then her man came around and demanded attention. Me and the guy had slowly become cool with each other so I bid them goodbye and figured after that I wouldn't run into either of them again, at least not the girl. Turns out she took a liking to me and would ambush me after classes near the dorms so we could hang out until her sugar daddy got out of class. I was worried she was crushing at first, but she was just a very sweet girl who honestly needed a friend. Now I can see why, since most of her friends probably spend every waking moment creating anarchy in Timber.

I haven't had many friends, so I took the chance with her and now we are practically family. She and I have a lot in common. We are both introverted extroverts with a lot of spunk and passion, and we have very interesting friends who make our lives fun and exciting. I had no idea that at the time she was scouting the Garden for potential Agents to sign a contract for, but even if I had I wouldn't have thought to be selected because she never saw me spar or practice. It was probably her boyfriend who boasted my skills behind my back… anyway, that is the story. I know it seems like a very short time to get so close, but we were both socially starved. Last I heard of her relationship, she and her boyfriend had been arguing a bit, not sure what about. When I saw her eyeing you at the Ball I couldn't help trying to hook the two of you up. She really does have a thing for strong men, specifically swordsmen. And you just need to loosen up, badly."

Leon felt no deception from the blonde, even if it was pretty obvious that he was leaving out certain pieces of information. He wasn't quite sure why Naruto would be so vague and so honest at the same time, in fact he had no idea how the idiot had done so either. He begrudgingly conceded that he had been given enough information to answer his question, "Now, explain what the hell happened out there… how were you just… stuck to the train like that?"

Zell perked up, "You mean the magic climbing thing he does? Freaks me out a bit…"

Leon gave Zell a look of confusion, "You knew he could… stick to things like some kind of freaky bug man?"

"I think the term you are looking for is some freaky 'spider man' dude, but you probably aren't into comics so…" Zell trailed off at the end when he saw Leon's glare.

Selphie put her hand in the air then as she rubbed her cheek with the other, "Actually, I kind of want to know how you did that too…"

Naruto looked between the two of them and decided that it probably wouldn't hurt to try and explain, "All right, but listen up because I don't know if I will be able to explain this more than once in one sitting. I am able to stick to surfaces by focusing my magical essence into the parts of my body that need to stick. Back then, it was my feet, my back, and my arms. By focusing the right amount of magic into those parts of your body, you can stick to anything. It isn't so much a spell, because you don't actually release much essence to do so, more you just focus it in that portion of your body at specific levels.

Selphie, I want you to hold up your hand, palm facing me and Leon, and prepare a non-elemental spell, like Scan. Focus the spell into your hand like you normally would when unarmed, but instead of releasing it, just keep it in your hand. It will feel… warm, but not hot. There might be a tingle like when your limb falls asleep."

Selphie blinked when she received her orders, but when she got a nod from Leon she held up her hand and closed her eyes. A faint glow formed around her hand as the buildup of essence gathered but wasn't released. Leon found the sight fascinating because magical essence was often converted to some element or released into a spell too quickly. Watching someone actually hold back a spell made him very nervous, worried that it may burst our of control and cause Selphie harm. Imagine his shock when Selphie giggled like a kid.

"It tingles, like you said when a foot falls asleep, but it isn't unpleasant. I've never held a spell in like this before. It doesn't even feel like there is a backup or overflow." Selphie kept her eyes shut to keep her concentration.

"That's because unlike offensive spells and defensive spells, all you are doing is gathering a small bit of non-elemental magic. Now, try to separate the essence you feel from the spell that you are focusing. Remember, no element, no rushing, no probing outside of your own body. Keep the essence in your hand, and repurpose it until it has no purpose at all. Let it be free of the strict rules you have set in your mind." Naruto continued as he kept an eye on the essence forming near her hand.

Much to Leon and Zell's surprise, the essence glow dimmed down until it wasn't visible anymore, and then they could barely feel it. That wasn't really the surprising part considering everyone had seen a failed spell before. No, what had the both of them shocked was the sight of Naruto placing a small piece of paper against her palm and then leaving it there. It was just… stuck to her hand! Leon's eyes narrowed as the potential of such a thing ran through his mind. He could use something like that in battle to help support his berserk Renzokuken limit break style. Often times while practicing his sword would loose from his grip and clatter on the ground.

Selphie opened her eyes when she heard the boys gasp, and her eyes grew wide, "Wow, this is… so cool!"

Naruto smiled, "You're a natural Selphie, just like I figured you were! With a lot of practice to help build up your natural magical essence, you can learn to control it for many things. Get really good, and you could even do something like this." Naruto did a quick hand stand nearby, and then pushed off the floor so his feet would touch the ceiling, and then he hung there upside down with his hands in his pockets.

"Whoa, so that's why all your gear is strapped in sealable pockets!" Selphie called out with a bright smile.

Naruto shrugged, "Ya know, I am going to be honest… never actually put those two together. This is just what everyone wore back ho… back where I was born."

Leon noticed his moment of hesitation but decided not to mention it when Zell spoke up, "Bro, you talk a lot about your home land… but you never mention its name or where it is. Where did you come from, man?"

Leon narrowed his eyes as he heard the blonde answer back exactly how he had before with the same casual honest tone from last time, "I was born in a village named Konoha, in the Elemental Nations."

Leon groaned and rubbed his forehead a bit, "Same lies different day."

"I told you before, choosing to not believe the truth does not make it false." Naruto replied dryly while Zell rubbed his chin in thought.

Leon stepped away and gripped the handle of his sword. Zell and Selphie noticed the action and both scowled at the back of his head. When Leon turned to Naruto he was faced with two very angry SeeD Agents both in defensive stances. He glowered at them both before turning away again, "Fine, believe his lies if you wish. Search a million maps if you must. You will never find the Elemental Nations or any mention of a village named Konoha in any library in the world. Not even Esthar will have heard of them, and they are the most advanced people on this planet."

"Yo, darky…"

Leon turned to Naruto glaring dagger his way until he saw those intense cerulean blues looking troubled and uncertain. The usual confidence that made Naruto practically unbearable on most days was gone… and it took Leon a moment to catch his breath. Naruto looked so… troubled and conflicted… but his voice was steady and held no hint of deception when he next spoke.

"Let's finish this mission… and then I will tell you guys where I am from. I am willing to put my trust in you guys, I just need some time to think about it first… is that acceptable?"

Leon turned away and looked at the floor, and a strange sensation built up in his chest. It was odd, and a little uncomfortable. Was he feeling guilt? Was he guilty for pushing Naruto and accusing him out of blind frustration? Had he perhaps gone too far in his digging? How the hell was he supposed to know? Turning again, he folded his arms over his chest and gave a nod, "Okay Naruto… I will wait for your explanation. Just don't take too long… I want to know if I can trust you or not, and this doubt in my head is nagging at me."

Everyone was silent for a few moments before several knocks sounded on the other side of the door leading to the hall. Leon went to the door and removed the chair before unlocking the door itself. When the door was let loose, three bodies piled up on the floor with Rinoa flopping down on the top of the pyramid. The freedom fighters struggled out of their heap before fixing their clothes and trying to cover their blushes. Rinoa caught Naruto's eye and gave him a worried look, but he forced a smile to try and help reassure her. Seeing Leon standing away from the others, and the way Zell and Selphie were standing in front of the blonde so… protectively, his fake smile did nothing to ease her mind.

Zone spoke up after the hustle bustle had ended, "Well, er… right, so we have decided how to proceed. Princess will be the one to represent the Forest Owls while your SeeD team will back her up and provide protection."

Leon eyed the trio warily, "Protection… from a politician? An unguarded politician at that…? And why isn't the leader going in with us?"

Zone looked about to respond when everyone saw him freeze up, and then heard his stomach squeal in such a way that rusty door hinges would be severely jealous. Pulling a bin out of no where in a flash, the SeeD team retched back a little from the projectile… well, you get the idea. The sound was awful, and soon enough the man was hiding in the corner while trying to steady his stomach. Leon turned then to Watts, the sort of kind of second in command, and the man stiffened up.

"Intelligence is my specialty, sir…" Watts said cautiously.

Rinoa sighed as her face was hidden in her dainty palm, "Let's just… get this going. The President is not a man to take lightly, so it is better to proceed with extreme caution. If you are all prepared, we have stopped the train in an area that isn't patrolled by Galbadian forces."

Leon eyed his team and despite the recent hiccup everyone seemed ready to follow his lead again. Naruto was out of sorts, and for good reason, but he was standing tall and poised with purpose. Nodding to the team, Leon turned back to Rinoa and stepped forward to lead the way. Rinoa took her place behind him for protection purposes, followed quickly by the rest of the SeeD team. Naruto hung in the back to keep guard of the rear, but if he were being honest with himself he was utterly distracted. He could still hear Kyu…- Kurama… growling softly after the brief interrogation he suffered back there. It seemed that the old phrase, 'it never rains, but it pours,' had more merit than he had given it credit.

Naruto had expected some kind of questioning from his friends, some form of light interrogation. He would never have expected Leon to threaten him. He didn't feel any ill intent from the young man, in fact he was fairly certain that he was only worried about the well being of the team and the mission. Leon just seemed… confused, and it was making him angry. Naruto idly wondered if it was simply frustration because of a lack of understanding. One thing was certain to the knucklehead… he would have to give Leon a reason to trust him. This time, the ball was in Naruto's court.

* * *

The team plus Rinoa made their way through the train to the car they were towing to find a very luxurious cabin. The cabin had beautiful carpeting, and fine wood paneling to give the whole thing a very warm atmosphere. The lighting was turned off so the only light filtered in through the heavy red curtains hung up on each window. One large booth with enough seating for several full grown men sat along the right side of the cabin, and sitting at that booth reading a newspaper was the man of the hour: President Vinzer Deling. The man was an older gentleman with slightly graying black hair. On his nose sat a pair of bifocal round frame glasses, and he was wearing a fine dark suit and tie.

Rinoa stood back and to the side for a moment before her emotions got the best of her. Rushing forward while Leon tried to grab her arm, she reached the president and riped the paper from his hands harshly, "Vinzer Deling, you will answer for everything you have done to the people of Timber! You… you force your rule on others with no remorse and your hunger for power cannot be sated! Tell me why I shouldn't kill you right now!"

The president let his hands fall slowly to his sides as he stared forward through his glasses into the leather of the seat across from him. Rinoa watched his every move, or lack there of, with trepidation. When he finally broke his stoic stare, he looked toward Rinoa with menacing eyes that glowed inhumanly.

"Trap… complete. You… die… now!" The 'president' said in a garbled voice that was unlike anything the living ought to utter.

Naruto suddenly switched placed with Rinoa using a well times replacement sending her back to his spot in the rear. A flash of silver and he deflected a strike that would have left her severely wounded. The alleged president had suddenly retched and lashed out with elongated claws to strike at Rinoa. Had Naruto not scented death in the air he might not have been ready for the attack. Leon signaled the team to form up with Zell rushing forward and Selphie positioning herself between the enemy and their client. Rinoa watched in horror as the man she hated more than anyone else in the world stood up and audibly broke several of his bones in the process. Naruto took his chance to hop backward a few steps to stand by Zell.

"Gero… hungry… will feast on your fleshies~!" The strange creature growled through gargling and hissing sounds.

Zell was the one to voice the thoughts of the entire party, "Okay now what the fuck is this thing?!"

"Whatever it is, it is undead. I can smell the death hidden inside the disguise." Naruto said while keeping his guard up.

Leon focused his magic and launched a second level fire spell at the beast, "Let's rip off the mask then…"

The odd creature roared as the fake flesh bubbled and melted away. It fell prone and convulsed, thrashing its arms here and there. Suddenly, the flesh tore and a bright light erupted from within that forced the team to divert their eyes. When the light died down, the gurgling had turned into warbled growls and the putrid smell of corpses filled the air and made Selphie retch. Leon glared toward where the thing had been, and his eyes widened at the grotesque figure before them. What could pass for skin was grey and sickly green, oozing puss and bile that left horrid stains in the carpet. The left arm and leg had deformed and grown ten fold, and the skin on the left side of the face had been pulled taut by the abnormal growth, forcing the thing to reveal its sharp teeth and menacing green eyes. It swung its large arm to bash the floor harshly cracking the wood and making the metal beneath groan in protest.

"Gerogero feed… you smell… **delicious!** " It growled with a high pitched voice that sent shivers down their spines.

In speed that none of them had predicted possible, the undead beast dashed straight for Selphie only to bash head first into her double layered protection barrier that was formed around her and Rinoa. The young raven haired cutie behind her gasped, but to her credit she didn't flinch or back down. Gerogero yowled and bashed several times against the blue shield before being sent into the wall from a heavy kick by Zell. The brawler flipped and readied himself to bull rush with a shoulder charge, only to curse as an oversized… hand… paw… thing slammed into his chest and forced him to indent the opposing wall of the train.

"Gerogero not pleased… must… **feed!** " The monster hissed as a Fire spell burst to life in his path, blocking him from furthering his assault on the fighter.

Leon side stepped allowing Naruto to rush in fast and break past Gerogero's guard in order to deliver several quick slashes with his gunblade daggers before having to leap back to avoid an overhead bash from the creepy thing's hand-paw. The wounds bled sizzling yellow bile that seemed to melt the carpet below. Naruto cursed as some had splashed his leg and burned at his skin, forcing him to take a knee to recover. Leon saw this and moved in to land several strikes to Gerogero who let out a cackle before allowing his own hand to be severed in order to spray his blood across the room.

Leon got out unscathed and Naruto was out of reach. Zell narrowly dodged the fountain as he made his way toward the beast to drop kick him away from the girls so they would be out of range. Selphie sighed in relief as she had been trying to think of a spell to deflect or negate the acidic blood. Gerogero wasn't down for long and prepared to cast a spell of some kind. The team leapt back from Gerogero quickly, but Naruto wasn't able to retreat in time and he was stuck by a strange gathering of essence that he had never seen before. He cursed and clutched at his chest, feeling a dull pain there.

Leon saw this and barked out toward Naruto, "Naruto, get that leg healed up quick, the next spell might not be so harmless!"

Naruto nodded and pulled back from the front to use a potion on his leg. The pain in his limb faded quickly, but another dull ache throbbed in his chest making him wince. He didn't know what was going on, but he had no time to think with the creature rampaging toward Leon where the two clashed in a flurry of flashing steel and glistening claws. Suddenly Leon was caught off guard when the beast allowed his blade to stab deeply into its flesh. Gerogero released a sickly growl that shook the train and from his open jowls he spewed a mist that made Leon grunt in pain and leap back, sword barely yanking free. When he was at a safe distance, he rubbed at his eyes that had dulled and turned gray, and his movements seemed sluggish.

Selphie saw the attack and the results before gasping, "Squall, hold on!"

Leon nodded and took a knee while Zell took up first position to beat back the beast with swift kicks and punches, avoiding the swipes and bites sent his way. Out of the entire group he was the one who seemed to have the least trouble with the odd berserker melee that Gerogero attacked with. Meanwhile, Leon felt the life essence wash over him as his body went back to normal. It dawned on him then that the strange mist must have been a mixture of Blinding and Slowing spell essence. Understanding the situation he glanced over at the blur that was likely Naruto who stood waiting to leap in with his hand clutching at his chest.

Zell leaped into the air doing a back flip while slamming his foot into the lower jaw of the monster. Gerogero was sent flying into the back wall of the train car where he growled lowly, obviously feeling the strain of having to fight these particularly troublesome humans. Naruto leapt in at that point and unleashed a storm of quick and flashy strikes that served to deflect his enemy's deadly claws more than wound the beast, but what Gerogero didn't see were the nearly invisible wires that were swinging from each of the little human's daggers and looping loosely around his arms and torso. And then Naruto leapt up and kicked off the creature's face hard so he could jump back from Gerogero, pulling those wires taut. Gerogero howled angrily as he struggled against the wires.

"Must feast… hunger… **so much hunger!** "

Naruto had his back to the beast while panting heavier than he should be, the pain in his chest throbbing now, "Next time… you ugly prick… grab a Snickers…"

Naruto then pulled both his wired daggers tight, and then squeezed the triggers. The force of the shots caused both his hands to pull beyond human strength, even with his magic enhancing his muscles, and the razor wire sliced deeply into Gerogero causing him to scream in rage and fall to pieces on he floor. What didn't die was quickly burned by several Fira spells cast by Selphie who had been waiting for her chance to move on the offensive. The smell of burnt flesh was sickening, but the relief that the undead monstrosity was now back to being normal everyday dead was enough to stall any retching or cringing.

Naruto smiled for a brief moment before his heart throbbed and a pain unlike anything he had ever felt before… well, like he had felt once before… sent him to his knees. Startled, the entire team rushed to his side to check on him. He had no outside wounds, but it was clear he was suffering. Their questions fell on deaf ears as Naruto could barely hear over the thumping of his heart in his ears. The thumping slowed down, and even as he felt stricken with fear his beating heart just kept failing. And then, as he heard Selphie calling out something, he passed out and knew no more.

As Leon felt the rush of victory, he was filled with dread when he saw Naruto fall to his knees. He was the first one to his side and gripping his shaking shoulder, "Naruto! Naruto, talk to me, what's wrong?"

"Hang on, I will scan him, don't let him move!" Selphie cried as her hands shook with adrenaline and worry.

Zell knelt by Naruto opposite Leon helping keep the downed blonde from retching or falling, "Man, he looks bad… was it that blood?"

Leon shook his head as his face settled into a pensive scowl, "When his leg was hurt he wasn't able to dodge that first spell. I didn't recognize the essence… just that it was some kind of status magic, like the mist he used to blind and slow me."

Just then both males turned to Selphie who had gasped and was frantically working through her supplies, "Oh god… where is it… where is it?!"

"Selphie, calm down and tell us what is going on?" Leon tried to keep his subordinate calm, but his tone was far from comforting.

"It's… he is inflicted with Zombie! I need a Holy Water or we could lose him!" Selphie could hardly keep her hands steady as she tried to find the right bottle.

Zell looked worried, "Can't you use Esuna to cure that?"

Leon looked over at Zell and shook his head, "Esuna is exceedingly difficult to find, and she used a lot of her essence to cure the double status effects on me earlier.

That was about the moment that Naruto went limp and his body began to drop in temperature. Leon's scowl deepened, but he was relieved when Selphie pulled out a bottle of clear water labeled with a blue cross. Zell tilted Naruto's limp head back gently so she could pour the bottle down his throat. After a few moments, Naruto's normally high temperature returned, but he wasn't going to be back on his feet for a while. Rinoa, who had been told to remain behind by Selphie, couldn't hold back any longer and ran forward to kneel in front of Naruto, her eyes glistening but her resolve strong.

"Is Naru okay? What happened?" Rinoa asked, her voice only slightly trembling.

Leon stood up and crossed his arms leaving Zell to help support Naruto, "That undead monster cast Death essence toward us during the battle and it infected Naruto with Zombie. It's a status effect that attacks the heart and drains all of the life essence from your body, effectively killing you so that you can be reborn undead. Attempting to heal with Life magic or potions often causes immense pain, and can speed up the degeneration. It was working… way too quickly on him… it shouldn't have degraded his system so efficiently…"

' _Just another question to be answered…'_

* * *

Naruto woke up feeling like he had just been forced through the eye of a needle… twice. He knew he wasn't where he ought to be by the feeling of bitter cold around his body. Despite the temperature, he was wrapped in something warm enough to counter it. Beneath him was something very soft… obviously a mattress of some kind, and a pillow for his head. He let his eyes open and unsurprisingly, he was greeted by the sight of two icy blue eyes that he had grown accustomed to seeing filled with worry. He groaned and closed his eyes again knowing he had failed somehow… again.

"Let me guess, I ended up showing up here in a bloody pulp?" Naruto asked, hating the cliché that was his life.

Shiva, despite her worry, let out a small giggle as she stroked his cheek, " **I wish I could say no, and that we brought you here to throw you a banquet to celebrate your latest victory. Unfortunately… you came very close to dying. Oh, Naruto, why do you keep getting into these kinds of messes?** "

Naruto eyed her with a twitching brow, "I would like to present it to you that I have only come close to dying twice so far here in Gaia, and that one time when I fell asleep on the train doesn't count because I was in no danger… I think."

Shiva laughed softly while covering her lips with her arm to try and stifle them. Naruto took this opportunity to look around and figure out where they were. The entire room was made of ice… or at least it had the appearance of ice. He was lying on his back on a large bed, likely king-sized by his reckoning, in the center of a rounded room. The walls arched up toward the center of the ceiling and it dawned on him that he was currently inside the little igloo that Shiva had created in her area of his Mindscape… well little from the outside anyway, considering the bed he was on. There were several stands carved into elegant shapes out of crystalline ice, with potted plants and odd wall mounted decorations resembling many unique snowflake shapes. The only window was fogged up like the panes of an old country window in the winter. On the floor was a beautiful area rug with several intricate designs of different shades of blue that reminded Naruto of a kaleidoscope.

Naruto looked back up at Shiva and realized that the pillow he had been complimenting for its softness… was her lap. Struggling to hold back his blush, he tried to think of a plethora of other things to distract him. This of course didn't work because each thought that came to mind was simply something soft to compare. Losing a pointless battle, he took a deep breath and let himself relax and to hell with the consequences. Shiva didn't seem in much of a rush to disengage him from her lap, so in his mind it was a win-win for team Nariva.

"So what exactly happened to me? Do any of you guys have an idea?" Naruto asked while looking up through tired eyes at the beautiful goddess above.

Shiva, feeling bold, let her hand cup his cheek gently before stroking at his whiskers, **"Sister Siren was able to see through our link with you that you suffered from a rare status effect known as Zombie. It is a curable status, but your body's natural healing factor seemed to speed up the degeneration process exponentially. Your little friend Selphie was able to secure a vial of the antidote before the effect could take your life, but it was dangerously close."**

Naruto sighed heavily and let his eyes close as he enjoyed her gentle caresses, "Fu…dge, this isn't good. You know… back home, there may have been crazy assassins, people with swords bigger than their bodies, mad scientists making freaky hybrid people, and thousands of pervert seeking mad-women… but at least there weren't God dam…dang Zombies!"

Shiva's lips curled into a tiny smirk as she noticed his small ticks trying to avoid cursing, **"I knew a man with a sword that big once… well, I have known quite a few of those. One of the things I like about you is your choice of modest weaponry… anyway, the undead are a rare breed so I don't think you have much to worry about… but keep a healthy supply of Esuna spells and Holy Water just in case. I don't want to lose you…"**

Naruto went red and peeked open one eye to see the dark blue dusting her cheeks, "I don't want to leave you either, Shiva."

Shiva let her eyes fall and soon their gazes met in the middle, two shades of equally startling blue piercing into each other's souls. The soft hand tracing his whiskers slowed to a stop and slid further back until her fingers curled around and tangled in his hair. Naruto wriggled his arm free of the snug blankets he had been wrapped in and let his hand slowly caress up her arm to her cheek where he brushed away some of her loose hair. It was a simple gesture, but that light touch meant more to her than he would ever know, but the look of sheer joy in the smile she wore was a good sign to the dense knucklehead. Naruto looked at her lips, that smile… she was beautiful. He had the strongest urge to guide her closer… to pull her down far enough… to take that step forward and claim what he had been dreaming of for a long time…

And then Shiva leaned down in one gentle and graceful bow while pulling his head up from her lap, and their lips met. It wasn't one of those messy teenage fluid transfers. It wasn't one of those awkward timid first timer kisses. This was a kiss between a man and a woman who were both struggling to hold back from the feelings they had for each other… and finally submitting to the eventuality of their reality. Rough lips met soft, and their gentle caresses expressed a feeling that wasn't deep enough to be a love of legend, but wasn't shallow enough to be judged a flight of fancy. Whether moments passed or an entire lifetime, neither of them was thinking clearly enough to bother with such frivolous concerns. Neither Naruto nor Shiva remembered closing their eyes, but both saw only darkness filled with the sensations of touch, taste, and sound. They could feel their connection… taste each other ever so lightly… hear the slow and steady breathing between them.

When the two parted both held still for a brief moment to revel in the lingering sensations of their first kisses… first real kisses, anyway. Two sets of blue eyes opened to see not blushing faces or shifting gazes… just the eyes of the one they cared for looking back. And then as one, the two released a breath they hadn't been aware of holding, and the warm breath of human met the icy breath of goddess in a cloud of white mist that lingered only a moment before vanishing away, as if the restrictions they had both set on their hearts had gone with it. And then they shared a smile.

"Ya know… the next time we do that… I hope I won't be upside down." Naruto said softly, and both of them laughed.

* * *

Leon was a patient man, one of logic and reasoning. When decisions had to be made, he was the man with the guts to make them, even the tough ones. If he had to order a team member to infiltrate an enemy lair alone, he would do it if the mission was at stake. The logical course of action was always the right one, in every situation, no question about that… right? So then why… for the love of God… was he sitting around with his team waiting for Naruto to wake up? The logical thing to do would be to continue following protocol. Leave Naruto behind in the Presidential Car with a survival kit while confiscating all of his Garden identification tags and affiliated paraphernalia. But…

But… Zell and Selphie would disapprove… and for some reason so did he. Every time he contemplated proceeding, he would look at Naruto's resting form on the floor of the train and he just couldn't do it. By the Guardians he couldn't grasp why the hell this was happening now of all times. His entire career as a SeeD could be dictated by the decisions he made on this, his first mission. Now he was stuggling with his heart over a simple decision?! Fuming, he resumed a pattern of pacing back and forth along the length of the train car, avoiding the holes left by the acidic blood of Gerogero.

Zell was seated in the booth that the fake president had been lounging. His fists were clenched on the table so tightly that the leather of his gloves threatened to rip. His eyes were glued to the seat across from him because he couldn't look at Naruto. Despite the cocky bull that he spouted all day to the cadets at Garden and with his friends, he was a very insecure guy. It stemmed from his personal goals and what they meant to him on a deeper level. He had a name to live up to… a name that he didn't really deserve to carry considering he had been adopted. His grandfather had been a decorated soldier who was commended for his bravery, loyalty, and skill on the battlefield. Zell Dincht was obsessed with the man and wanted to prove that he was worthy of the name Dincht.

He made a promise to Naruto that he would always have his back. First real mission… and he failed his one job. He was supposed to be the front line man in the thick of the fight. In a moment of underestimation, he let his guard down and was nearly thrown clear through a wall of solid steel. The dent in the wall near the front of the train car was a reminder of his lapse in judgment. After that he had been so dazed that he held back and hesitated to jump in several times. Because of his fear and doubt, he left his best friend out to dry and he was almost killed. Cursing and closing his eyes tightly he fought hard to keep his tears back and be a man. His mantra was set in his head even as he struggled with his emotions… _Must get stronger…_

Selphie Tilmitt, the over prepared wonder girl, was sitting on her knees with her calves spread wide behind her. Her hands were pressed into the fine carpet of the train car as she trembled slightly from the adrenaline rush she was still fighting off. In front of her on the floor was the bag she always kept strapped to her side on her belt during combat. There were several sections dedicated to healing, enhancement, and combat counters. At the moment, several bottles and kits were spread across the floor in a haphazard mess. Why do you ask? Because: Selphie had torn her organized pocket apart trying to figure out where her stash of Holy Water had gone.

Her memory kicked in as she sat quietly watching Naruto sleep on the floor a few feet away. She was in Balamb chatting it up with the shop keeper about the latest fashion. Her order was being put together by a pharmacist in the back so she and the cashier at the window had let their minds wander to entertaining topics. She briefly remembered Naruto walking by and waving with a far-away look in his eyes, but she had waved him off rather dismissively. As the conversation went on her order came and she put the whole collection away in her combat purse… without caring to organize it all. And after another five minutes the whistle nearby at the station blew and she had to run without giving her messy bag a second thought.

Her mental vision flashed forward to the War Room while she watched Naruto get thrown against the wall by her team leader. She barely knew Leon, but she knew that he and Naruto were at least on casual speaking terms. In her hesitation she let her friend get bullied into talking about his past… his abilities. Despite her lack of action, he chose her to demonstrate his methods and his look of pride and praise had meant a great deal to her. Not having any close friends at Balamb, she had clung to Naruto's friendly and charming personality. At first she wondered if she had gained a little crush on him, especially after she had seen him take off his uniform jacket one afternoon in the Quad. Instead, he became someone she looked up to, even if he was a goofball most of the time. He had his flaws… and a particularly filthy mouth… but he could be so mature. He had become like a big brother… something that made her envious of Rinoa the moment she saw how cozy the two were.

She came to his defense eventually… after Zell had shaken off his shock and jumped in first. She was ashamed of herself for her lack of guts. And to only further her guilt, she had neglected to take the time to organize her bag again when Leon questioned the team about their preparations. She had been so wrapped up in her own petty thoughts at the time that she had forgotten to follow her own rules and self imposed protocols. Her lack of preparation and distractions almost cost her a team member… almost cost her Naruto. With those thoughts burning in her mind she chose to furiously reorganize her bag instead of wallow in self-pity any longer. No more whining…

The only person who wasn't feeling emotionally conflicted was Rinoa Heartilly, their current client and the only person willing to be close to Naruto while he slept. She was seated in a relaxed pose with her knees pulled up close and her right hand held on Naruto's chest. His steady breathing kept her relaxed as she waited for those beautiful blue eyes to brighten the room again. She giggled inwardly as his lips puckered a little in his sleep. Sporting a mischievous grin, she remembered the first day they two of them met.

Seifer Almasy was a… complicated guy, if she were completely honest without trying to sound harsh. The two of them had met rather randomly during one of her visits to the city of Balamb. She was gathering information on the local Garden in hopes of figuring out how to meet with the head of the SeeD program. After a rather unimpressive day of scouting and snooping, she came to the understanding that Watts was much more important to the Owls than she gave the man credit for. While sitting at an outdoor café after dark, she saw Seifer visiting a Junk Shop across the lane. He was intriguing and a little more than attractive… but what drew her in the most was when she overheard him speaking about his classmates up at the Garden.

He caught her staring and assumed she had been admiring his sword… as filthy as that sounds, he really was holding his sword at the time. The cocky young stud that he was, he sauntered over to chat her up, and she took her chance to ask about the Garden. Of course most of the information pertained to his own interests, but her luck was good because he was intensely focused on the SeeD program. She agreed to several dates after their first meeting with plans to continue her mission as soon as she could corner the head man. She didn't plan on actually catching feelings for him… but she was only seventeen. A girl has dreams, ok? It wasn't true love at first sight or anything like that… but it was something. It wasn't until she had decided to move her relationship to the next level when she met Naruto.

Guardians above, she had been scared out of her wits. One moment she was engaged in a heated, hormone fueled passionate embrace, the next she was cowering behind her kind of sort of boyfriend while an angry sunshine blonde yelled at him. Their eyes met and she shivered because of the look he wore, but it softened almost immediately and he spoke reassuring words to soothe her. They didn't exactly work, but at least she felt like she wasn't in trouble. Things only seemed to get worse for her love life after that, and she realized that she and Seifer just weren't… clicking. Naruto though… that was another thing all together.

The knucklehead ran into her a few times during her stay with Seifer and had been nothing but friendly, even though she was most certainly part of the guilty party involved that first day. Eventually she sat down one afternoon and let go of her trepidation to have a conversation with the young man. What she discovered was something not many can boast… a kindred spirit! Naruto was her soul mate, not in the romantic sense, but in the sense that after a single afternoon of bonding over funny stories, shared interests, and nearly endless laughter… he was someone she just could not do without. And it came as little surprise when the feelings were mutual. Despite her protests, Naruto swore to be her over protective big brother on the last day of her stay, and their parting that afternoon had been much harder for her than her strained goodbyes with Seifer.

And now here she was, keeping her hand firmly on his heart to feel the beat so she could be sure that he was all right. Was she worried about him like the others? Absolutely. Would she worry herself sick over him like them? No way. This was Uzumaki-freaking-Naruto, her big brother! He was invincible, obviously, so he would be up and around in no time. That thought brought a blush to her face as she realized how childish it was… which made it perfect. So lost in her thought was she that the girl didn't notice Naruto stirring.

When he groaned, the entire room seemed to jump, and then he spoke in a raspy voice, "Ugh… anyone get the number of that train?" Naruto let our a quick breath as Rinoa squeezed him in a tight hug that caused a few of his lingering pains to flare up, but he didn't stop her.

Leon walked over and looked visibly relieved before kneeling by the pair of them, "Figured it would take more than that to shut your mouth… Good to see you awake."

Naruto was surprised by the small hint of a smile on the brunette's face, but he didn't comment on it… for now, "Good to be awake. The Guardians filled me in on what happened… I got cocky back there and put the team in a tight spot. Sorry about that, guys."

Zell walked over and helped him up after Rinoa reluctantly released her hold on him, "Don't sweat it, it could happen to anyone. Maybe you need to increase your weights a little, you looked a bit slow."

The two shared a grin before laughing, which helped to break the tension even further than his recovery. Selphie smiled as she put her bag away and walked over to hug him tight around his chest. Naruto rubbed her back soothingly before looking down at her, "Thanks for the save, Selphie-chan. I heard you were the one to have the medicine ready. I'd be lost without you!"

Selphie looked up at Naruto ready to object and make a scene about her lack of preparation and the mess she had left in her bag that almost cost him his life… but his bright eyes and genuine gratitude seemed to quench the fires of rebellion lingering in her heart. Returning his smile, she set aside her guilt and rubbed her nose as a cover to clearing away a stray tear from her cheek.

"Course you would, you dummy. Just leave the thinking ahead to me."

Zone's voice then suddenly cracked through their radios and everyone listened in, "Uhh… guys, I hate to be a bother, but there is some trouble. Get back up front ASAP so we can ditch the Presidential Car and keep moving!"

Leon sighed as he nodded to no one in particular, "Let's go, we have been here twenty minutes longer than I would have liked, but… it was worth it."

He got no arguments and the team cleared out of the car after a quick sweep to clear away any evidence of their presence. As soon as the last of the team had exited the hijacked train car the coupling locks were released and the Owls' mobile base took off to leave it far behind. Rinoa led the SeeD team into the War Room where Zone and Watts were already hunkered down in one of the corners. Naruto was led to an upturned recycling bin to sit on by Zell, and then Selphie got to work checking him over for any lingering wounds with a couple medicinal potions out just in case. Leon stood by the door watching Rinoa join her whispering comrades. He grew bored, thinking they would be a while, so he walked over to his team.

"Guess we completed our objective to the best of our ability. As soon as you are given the okay to travel, we should head back to Balamb and report the mission completion." Leon said, feeling a bit melancholy over the whole thing.

Zell nodded to catch Leon's attention and when he did he pointed over his leader's shoulder. When Leon turned he saw Rinoa waving a small piece of paper above her head, her face still turned toward her comrades. Groaning at the weird antics, Leon walked over and grabbed the slip of paper to read it as he walked back to his team. He stopped midway and his brow twitched.

 _Eggs… cheese… laundry detergent… military grade explosives… this is a grocery list?_

"We aren't delivery boys or yes men!" Leon growled between his clenched teeth.

Rinoa heard that and looked down only to gasp and then giggle, she quickly ran over to him and tore the paper he was holding from his grip. In a slight of hand that even Naruto was impressed with a new paper seemed to… materialize between his fingers before she was gone again in a flash. Leon blinked several times wondering if he was in some kind of… weird other dimension or something… but then he just rubbed his eyes with his free hand and read the new paper. And… he wanted it to be the grocery list again. His steps back to the team were far more somber than anyone wanted them to be.

"Do… do we want to know what that says?" Selphie asked while her eyes darted from the paper up to Leon's face. Leon passed the paper to her so that she could read it, and she snorted in a humorless way, "We're to continue aiding the Forest Owls indefinitely until they liberate Timber from Galbadian rule."

"Fan-freaking-tastic." Naruto groaned as he crossed his arms, "At least I get to keep an eye on Rinnie-chan."

Zone, Watts, and Rinoa suddenly stood up and performed a cliché team cheer in the corner before Rinoa ran over to them looking a bit more excited than she ought to be, "Ok SeeD team, we have our next objective!"

"And what would that be?" Leon asked sounding a bit skeptical… or was it bored?

Rinoa ignored his tone and stuck a pose with her hands on her hips and her chest pushed out exaggeratedly, "Well, mister, I will answer that with a question of my own… Ever wanted to be on television?"

* * *

 **And there we have it folks, the first official mission is… no where near complete! Leon is still struggling with his balance of duty and friendship, Zell is still doubting himself the poor fool, and Selphie got a bit of a reality check to help her remember her priorities.**

 **And Naruto learned a valuable lesson about keeping his guard up and evaluating his fights before leaping into the unknown haphazardly… I mean, he didn't even remember to Scan that guy! Come on Naruto, you're better than that!**

 **Naruto and Shiva finally decided to let their guard down and explore their feelings further… it may have helped that they were finally alone this time. Nothing to serious, for crying out loud they are still just getting used to understanding what love is (something Forrest Gump knew about, regardless of not being a smart man!).**

 **Hope all you Final Fantasy lovers liked my real-world application of status effects on the characters during the battle with Gerogero, (and I hope I can be forgiven for my alteration of the attack patterns of that fiend). The fight scene was a bit difficult to rework, but I thought about the battle in terms of how much space an actual modified train car like in the game would provide, and added in a very MMO (Sword Art Online) switching system to keep everyone involved. (don't own that anime/manga/whatever the copyrights and trademarks cover)**

 **As always, I must remind all of you senpais how much I love you all and value your lives. Please read and review, keep smiling, admire my beard and my santa hat, and expect the next chapter to be very interesting!**

 **Question: What is your least favorite status effect in a role playing video game? Don't play those, but you play other games with abilities that de-buff characters, then tell me the de-buffs that haunt your dreams!**

 **Mine:**

 **Pokemon: Confuse**

 **Final Fantasy: Berserk (such a pain in the butt! But I remember a very funny story where my entire party went Berserk and I was able to defeat a boss without being able to issue a single command the entire fight!)**

 **Minecraft: Mining Fatigue, my god…**

 **League of Legends: Why Nasus, why…?**

 **Skyrim: (not sure if this belongs here, but I really hate this…) Exceeding Weight Limit!**

 **Honorable Mention-Starcraft: (*drum roll*)** _ **Must construct additional pylons…**_


	13. Chapter 13: Timber Take Down Part II

**The first thing that I would like to say to everyone is that I am sorry. God knows I took a little too long to finish this chapter, and in reality I don't have any good excuses for it. I started this chapter a little later than I should have, and when I try to figure out what kept me away from my laptop, my brain just starts to buzz and beep with error messages. After I started typing, I realized that my mind just wasn't in it. I had some life struggles that were keeping my brain busy with worry. By the time I got back into gear family kept visiting and interrupting my flow. Pretty soon there were people in my personal space fairly regularly, and my writing zone needs to be lonely and filled with music.**

 **Then, I suffered a mighty blow sent directly from the Plot Bunny home world of Fudgemailyf. I have another crossover story that is in my head and it is just screaming 'write me!' over and over again. I have decided not to write it at all, only because I want to focus on this story. The Plot Bunnies are a relentless foe however, and I have suffered many losses of focus.**

 **Regardless, none of you care about that drivel! You want to read the next chapter, and if I don't shut up already I might bore some of you to death. So, to sum up what all that up there is saying:**

 **I'm sorry, bruh.**

 **This chapter is about 19,500 long, my longest piece of writing of ever, and is dedicated to all of my awesome readers, aka my beautiful senpais, who have been here since this crossover wandered onto Fanfiction such a short time ago. You guys are awesome, for real, and I hope that you all continue to enjoy Guardian Enforecer for as long as we are together here. Be sure to follow, favorite, and share this with your peoples to grow the following and keep the love strong! We are now 300+ followers strong, lets keep that train going!**

* * *

 **Timber Take Down: Part II**

Five inconspicuous teenagers stepped off a shabby looking train onto one of the less frequently used train stations in Timber's central square district. As the smoke billowed behind the retreating train they strolled casually down the steps and walked across the square toward one of the side streets. One could ask why on earth anyone would pay the posse any mind. The weapons each of them were wearing was a damn good reason, along with the fact that the Galbadian Army occupying the city had issued a state of martial law and ordered the citizens to remain indoors. For one reason or another these teens either didn't know, or they didn't care… and eyes were already tracking their movements.

At the head of the group was a taller male about seventeen or eighteen in all black who looked like a troublemaker. The two girls and two guys following behind him were all equally odd in one way or another and the guards tailing them had a bad feeling creeping up their spines. The two Galbadian guards, who were lower level men in their blue uniforms, were a particularly troublesome pair named Jo and Dan. The two of them had been punished for starting a ruckus on their last assignment. Needless to say, judging by the way the two of them were completely visible, neither had any training in pursuit or stealth. The bearded soldier named Dan was twitching from his head to his toes while keeping his eyes peeled every which way. Jo, watching these antics, sighed heavily while stroking his chin.

"Dan, you keep making so much noise we won't be able to follow these kids without them noticing…" Jo complained softly while hiding behind a wall.

Dan was nearby knelt behind a waste bin, "I am telling you man… my spidery sense is tingling my pants off right now…"

"How many times have I told you to stop reading that childish garbage? Man like you should be reaing Girl Next Door or something." Jo ignored Dan's warnings as nothing but the ramblings of an idiot.

Dan ignored his clean-shaven buddy as was normal when his ideas were being downplayed or his interests insulted, "There is someone watching us… I just know it."

"Perceptive bastard, aren't ya? We could have been friends." A voice sounded behind the duo shocking them.

Standing before the pair of soldiers was one of the teenagers, the one with sunshine blonde hair. He was wearing pants with a pretty nasty hole in one knee, sandals of all things, a jacket, and a thin shirt that was pulled up and over his face to cover his mouth and nose. Oddly, he wasn't holding any weapons in his hands… instead he had a bucket of black ooze and a down pillow. Eyeing the two strange items, both soldiers were left speechless, until just a few moments later. Two screams echoed through the city of Timber that caused every soldier in ear shot to tremble.

* * *

The blonde, Uzumaki Naruto, who was walking by his friends and teammates, felt the clone that he had left behind dispel and his lips curled. He looked discreetly toward the brunette at the head of the group and the two exchanged a glance. Naruto nodded and his leader turned his head forward again, not a word exchanged to chance anyone outside their group hearing anything that could compromise their plans. Naruto looked around at their group, smiling as he saw the huge grin on his little sister Rinnie's face. She was walking beside him holding onto his right arm tightly while bouncing like a little kid, obviously excited to be walking through her town with her new brother. He could tell that she wanted badly to point out some things and make it an official tour, but she was a very intelligent girl and knew they had to remain as quiet as possible. That didn't means she wasn't still excited as all hell.

Their destination was a small two story home owned by a woman that Rinoa had assured the team would allow them a chance to rest and plan. It was a very unassuming home, much too easy to miss considering it perfectly matched the rest of the row of homes. The buildings and streets were all made with the same mixture of dull gray stone with blue metal accents around doors, windows, and railings. Rinoa led the team up to the door, which was just as plain as all the others, and gave it a gentle rapping. They waited less than a few moments before the door opened and a kindly older woman smiled at the dark haired girl.

"Ah, hello Princess, you seem to be doing well. Would you please come in? I just finished preparing some Smores with the little ones." She spoke in the friendliest tone any of them had heard.

Rinoa smiled and rubbed the back of her head sheepishly when she said that nickname, "We can't stay long… I was actually hoping we might just step in and… admire that new window you had installed upstairs. I hear you hired quite the professional!"

The older woman seemed to understand something that the SeeD members were unaware of, but she didn't react outwardly except to smile brightly, "Oh, of course, just go on upstairs and be sure to wipe your feet."

Rinoa nodded and quickly cleaned her feet on the welcome mat before bounding upstairs. The team was slightly confused, but instead of thinking further on it each of them cleaned their feet quickly and went inside the warm home. The woman who had greeted them was casually working in a small kitchenette with a younger woman who was maybe in her early twenties or late teens. They ignored the group as they passed on their way to the stairs, but Naruto caught the younger woman keeping her eye on them out of the corner of her eye. Upstairs there were several doors, but the only one open was the bedroom at the end of the hall. Rinoa could be seen handing over a small bill to a child who was grinning like a madman.

"Tolls paid, you can take a look whenever you want, lady. Hey watch the carpet darky!" The kid was thanking Rinoa when he saw Leon entering and dragging his feet a bit.

Leon twitched a little looking annoyed, but he kept his cool since it was just a snot nosed brat. Naruto couldn't help smirking and while his leader was turned toward the window Rinoa was peeking through, the ex-shinobi shared a high five with the young lad. The two of them put on innocent faces when Leon glared over his shoulder at them.

"See, that is where we need to go. That alley leads right to the service area beneath the old broadcasting studio tower." Rinoa used her finger to trace the path they would need to take along a small map of the city, while gesturing to the dank alley below.

Zell looked over her shoulder, "So… why are we going there again?"

"We explained that back at base, Zell. Watts' informants told us that the president would be using the broadcasting studio to send a wide-area transmission all across the continent for some huge announcement. He hasn't told anyone about what his announcement is, not even his council or generals. If we are quick, we might be able to corner the president there and force a confrontation." Rinoa replid as if speaking about the weather or a date at the beach.

"Right, the plan is all good, I got that all saved up in the old noggin. What I mean though is… why are we doin this, ya know?" Zell tried to speak slowly so she would understand his question.

"To negotiate independence for Timber. Now, come on, it looks like our path is clear so we need to get to the Pub and use their back entrance. I know the owner so he won't ask questions." Rinoa folded her map and left the room before any further arguments could be made.

"I'm worried about Rinnie, I didn't think she would be so… involved like this. She doesn't seem to be thinking clearly." Naruto said quietly to his fellow SeeD.

Zell sighed as he crossed his arms and looked at his blonde buddy, "I got a bad feeling, bro. We better not lag too far behind, she might bail on us and do something reckless."

Selphie agreed and the two of them left quickly to rejoin Rinoa on the first floor. Naruto and Leon exchanged glances and it seemed both of them were thinking the same thing. Reluctantly, the both of them silently conceded to continue on this little adventure, though both of them had different agendas. When the two had rejoined Selphie and Zell, they found the two of them looking anxious. Naruto was about to ask what was up, but then he noticed Rinoa wasn't there. He cursed lowly and then dashed out of the house, Leon right on his heels and Zell and Selphie bringing up the rear.

* * *

Rinoa had flown out of the house quickly figuring the others were right behind her. She was focused on her mission, the goal she had set months ago. The Owls had put their faith in her planning skills to help with their resistance movement, and so far she felt like an utter failure. All that time gathering intelligence, stealing papers and buying equipment… the days that were wasted planning out how to build an entire replica of a Presidential train car. The resources her friends had thrown into hiring a team of professionals to help with their hijacking… all of it was a complete failure the moment the fake president revealed himself.

Rinoa thought of the people of Timber that were depending on her, depending on the freedom fighters to win the day! The mothers who couldn't let their children out to play because of the Galbadian soldiers patrolling the streets…the wives and husbands who lost their lovers to the executions during the early days of the resistance… so many people were counting the days until Timber was free again. She didn't have time to dillydally with Watts and Zone and the rest of the Owls waiting for her to pull a win out of her ass. This was her last chance to prove that it hadn't been a mistake to accept her… it hadn't been a mistake to trust… _her_.

"You know what? I think these guys are lying to us! How could these yokels not know anything about their own rat infestation?!" A voice was yelling from somewhere ahead of her.

Rinoa had to skid to a stop and cling to a wall when she nearly turned right into a bit of a mess. She peeked around the corner using a hand mirror that she kept in her pocket for these kinds of situations… as well as make-up emergencies. What? A freedom fighter needs to look good too… Standing by a small archway leading toward the street the Pub was located were two of the local Timber Guards at their post. While Galbadia kept a small contingent of troops in and around Timber, the people were still largely responsible for their own law enforcement and protection from monsters. The guards weren't the most heavily trained men and women, but they were dedicated and hard working people.

Two Elite Galbadian soldiers were accosting them with their menacing mana gauntlets and sneering at them with upturned noses. This was pretty common outside the Galbadian homeland. Because of Timber's long history of defiance the Galbadian people harbored a very harsh resentment toward the people of the forests. Many of the nobles in Deling City saw the people of Timber and Dollet as beneath them in economics, education, and general sophistication. In fact, even though Esthar was considered the most advanced civilization after the fall of Centra, Galbadia considered the people there barbarians and heathens.

One of the Elites grabbed a hold of one of the Timber guards' tunics and shook him rouhly enough to jar the billy club out of his hand, "You will either tell me what you know about the attempted hijacking, or you can tell it to the interrogators over at the detainment center, you little shit."

The other Elite laughed, "Or we can just say we never found these two and dump their bodies in the charcoal kilns."

Rinoa was fuming, trying her best to keep cool. Those two guards couldn't lift a finger to defend themselves or else the Galbadian army would come down on the entire defense force. They were just decent people trying to earn a living… and they had to deal with this kind of… crap all day every day? Where was the justice? Where was the honor? Her eyes widened when she saw the Galbadian soldiers preparing to get violent. At first she couldn't move, she could barely breath. She had a mission to complete… she couldn't get caught now… she had so much riding on this! But then she looked closer and saw the eyes of the Timber guards. Where lesser men would have shrunk in fear and tried to plead for their lives, these two men stood strong.

Rinoa looked into their eyes through the mirror and she saw a burning fire unlike anything that she had ever seen. That fire was their pride and their love for their home and their families. On this street the two of them were likely going to be killed by a couple of Galbadian scumbags, and yet their defiance stood stronger than ever. To ensure that Timber remained safe… to keep their families away from the boot heels of their oppressors… they would allow their own lives to be forfeit. This was what the Owls were fighting for… this is what she was fighting for… and fighting was exactly what she was going to do!

"Let's see… I got a blade here, and my hand cannon… hm, how to make this pig squeal…?" The Elite holding the guard said while grinning viciously at his new toy.

His partner laughed as if someone had just told some kind of elaborate joke, but the humor was lost on their victims who merely glared holes through those damned visors the Galbadian soldiers wore. And then, the guards saw something the soldiers did not, and the defiance in their eyes was joined by hope. Distracted by their own laughing and devious plans, neither of them heard the almost non-existant whistle of a blade slicing through the air. And then the Elite Soldier roughing up the guard let loose a cry of pain as his hand was severed clean from his wrist causing the hand to loosen and the guard to fall back while trying to avoid the surge of blood. The second elite turned quickly to see where the flying blade had come from only to sneer when his eyes fell on their attacker.

Rinoa had had enough and leapt out of her cover. Lifting her right hand in front of her face, she pulled back her sleeve to expose a Blaster Edge Gauntlet with a collapsed blade docked on her wrist. A quick press of a button on the underside of her wrist and the blade reformed into a cricular, single edged ranged weapon. Taking aim, she pressed another button located on her palm to fire the deadly ring toward her enemies. The targeting system used the magical essence focal point in the hand to connect to the nervous system of the body. Whatever your eyes locked in on, the blade would stop at nothing to destroy it before the magnet in the gauntlet would summon the blade back. Death to Galbadia… but damn they sure do know how to make some kick ass weapons.

The blade found the bastard's wrist just as her mind had commanded, and the satisfied smirk she wore after catching the blood stained blade on her gauntlet was predatory. As the man screamed out in pain, his partner caught sight of her and readied to fire his hand cannon at her in retaliation. She dove behind a postage box and heard the volley of magically enhanced lead ping off the metal protecting her. Her heart was racing, but she was completely focused as she waited for the assault to slow. As predicted, his clip ran dry and he had to reload, so she took this opportunity to dodge roll out of cover and lock onto her targets again. The first Elite who had suffered the crippling wound was behind cover mending his wounds with a potion to stem the bleeding.

Focusing on Tweedle Dumb, she locked her eyes on his shoulder and launched the blade. Just as he made to fire again he had to spin quickly to avoid serious injury. The blade arced up and then returned toward the youth that had attacked them. The girl was running toward him and he smirked, charging up his cannon. The blade she was firing flew down and had barely re-docked before she punched her fist forward and sent the blade straight for his chest. Panicking, the Elite fired a salvo right toward the blade, missing it by mere millimeters and getting a nasty gash on his chest for his lack of action. Rinoa had landed a solid hit to her prey, but not without getting a few scratches from the stray bullets that flew past her weapon.

"Fuck… she got me good…!" Elite Dumb choked out as he held his bleeding chest, the blood barely visible on his crimson uniform.

Elite Dee, now handless with a bandaged stump, leapt from his hiding place to engage the little shit who had severely wounded them. With both soldiers so badly wounded, the guards slipped away quietly to avoid having blame pinned on them. Seeing the two of them get away, Rinoa felt relief wash over her, but she was also a bit worried now that it was two against one. Sure, they were both wounded badly, but they weren't Elite Soldiers for their love of the color red. They were likely used to worse wounds on the battlefield, so she was going to have to either run, or finish them off.

She was interrupted from her thoughts as Dee came within range to attack her in melee combat, something she admittedly was unfit for. Her agility and flexibility rivaled that of professional dancers as she wove in and out of his fierce swings. He pulled out a combat knife during his assault and made to stab her in he leg, which would have succeeded had he not been suddenly forced back by two solid feet slamming into his shoulders. His cry of pain was barely audible over two fierce cries from very familiar voices that filled Rinoa with relief, even though the two were yelling out such odd things.

"Aerial Mach Kick Entry Combo!" The two voices shouted before Zell and Naruto flashed in front of Elite Dee to deliver twin flying kicks to his shoulders.

The resounding crunch of bones breaking and dislocating was enough to make even a hardened war veteran want to cringe. Selphie ran up beside Rinoa to work a low level cure spell on her scratched up legs. Leon walked casually with his blade over his shoulder, glowering toward the soldiers, and also a little toward Rinoa. The girl recognized that look all too well, but she wasn't going to let the brunette bother her. With her legs healed she stood up and smiled at Selphie before getting into a fighting stance, only to be confused when Naruto was facing her with a blank look. Just the silence he was exuding was making her sweat, but before she could question him he spoke up.

Behind Naruto, Zell was tearing Elite Dee a new exit tunnel while Naruto spoke as if nothing were happening, "Rinnie-chan, what the heck do you think you were doing leaving us behind? If not all of us, why would you leave _me_ behind? Do you have any idea how worried I was about you?"

Rinoa stood straight before mirroring a pose she had turned to habit because of Naruto… rubbing the back of her head softly and laughing nervously, "Well… Naruto… I was just… getting carried away?"

Naruto suddenly had Rinoa in a hug with her head held tightly in his arms and his face was exaggeratedly flowing with streams of tears leading into the void of his turtle neck, "Rinnie-chan, how could you just leave your big brother to worry over you while you go picking fights in the playground with the other kids?"

Rinoa struggled against his hold like a cat with their head stuck in a box, "N-naruto… let me…"

Naruto held firmly before lifting her head up and nuzzling their cheeks together while his eyes shut tight and continued to flow with endless tears, "Rinnie-chaaaaan…~" An explosion sounded behind him making his hair wave in the breeze, followed by the pleading voice of Elite Dee before he screamed girlishly for mercy.

Leon stood holding his face in his palm as Naruto whined like a puppy over his 'little sister.' Zell was holding the now empty uniform of Elite Dee who had been desintigrated by one of Selphie's more powerful Thundara spell bursts. Said spell caster was sheepishly laughing while rubbing her right arm nervously. The whole commotion had been enough of a distraction for Elite Dumb to wander off and escape, something that would probably come back to bite them later. Fed up with the childish antics of the blonde, Leon walked over and bonked him on the head with the handle of his blade.

"Wake up you moron… this stopped being funny about three years ago." Leon grumbled before strapping his blade to his belt.

Naruto seemed to wake from a trance as he blinked and then looked at the blue faced girl he had been smothering with sibling affection. Rinoa took a deep breath when he let go of her, and stood with her hands on her knees regaining her composure while Naruto laughed a bit. Naruto helped Rinoa stand up and checked her over slowly,

"Sorry Rinnie, I think all those years being the little brother caused me to have a build up of older brother shenanigans…"

Rinoa gave him a stern glare that made him worry before she started giggling and relief washed through his system, "It's fine, just try not to suffocate me next time, okay?"

Naruto nodded before turning toward the team and surveying the area. Right away he noticed something… there were two sources of blood on the street, but only one set of remains. He looked at Leon and noticed the stoic was making the same observation. The two exchanged a look that told the other they were on the same wavelength again, before Leon took charge and addressed everyone.

"This is liable to draw attention to this area considering this guy was an Elite. Let's get to the Pub and move out. Rinoa, no more funny business, there have been enough speed bumps on this mission all ready." Leon walked on down the street avoiding the pools of blood so he wouldn't leave tracks.

Rinoa looked taken back by the harshness of his words, but a shake of Naruto's head told her to leave it be for now. Reluctantly, she conceded and the two of them followed after the rest of the team.

* * *

Timber City Pub was once a place to be, a social hub where the elite and commoners mingled and discussed everything from sports to politics. The neon lights would be a beacon that led nightlife from all over the city and the music kept the customers entertained and very, very thirsty. Those had been the golden days of Timber, when every man was worth what they were willing to work for. Like the people of Centra, no one is immune to change… even if that change is total destruction. Luckily for Timber, that had been avoided in favor of complete surrender of lands and assets, including the people. Oh, at first it seemed like the Pub would survive the occupation. Galbadian soldiers needed to drink too, after all, but… the locals began their revolts which led to property damages, loss of businesses, loss of trade… and eventually, loss of peace. The Galbadians stopped coming, and soon so did the locals, until only the lush and alcoholics would brave the curfews to visit the pub for their medicines.

One such regular, an older man who had been drinking himself stupid every night at the Pub since before the Timber Invasion, was seated in the Pub as per the norm and working on his sixth glass of Wild Chocobo. An empty bottle of Firaga Ball lay on its side near him. Across from him sat his long time drinking buddy, a quiet and calm drunk who drank nothing but Cactuar Juice Vodka. While his buddy spoke no more than three words in a day, the loud and obnoxious addict was always willing to rant… much like he was currently doing about the aftermath of the recent attempt on President Deling's life.

"I'm telling you, Roi, these young punks are nothing but trouble!" He was yelling.

"…"

"I know! It is just such a pain in the ass…" He grumbled while shaking the ice around his glass, not noticing the small posse of youths walking in the front, "If you ask me, these so called 'resistance groups' are nothing but a bunch of terrorists who don't give a shit about us normal folks. Don't they realize how much trouble we deal with whenever they fool around with the system?!"

"…"

"Man Roi, you're the only one round here who understands me. I say to hell with all these groups. I hope the Galbadians kill them all and just take us over fully all ready. How bad would it be to change all these ridiculous flags and learn a new national anthem?"

"…Eeyup."

Two dainty hands slammed on the table between them and startled the loud mouth. His quiet friend barely noticed the act and just kept sipping away at the drink that had given him brain damage over the years, "Where the hell is your pride?! How dare you talk about the resistance like that, you old fart?! You sit in here drinking away your life while others are out there doing everything they can to help give you the freedom to do it!"

The man growled, "Listen here, girly, you are talking pretty tough for such a cute kid. The fact of the matter is that the people here are already suffering enough for the trouble that was caused by the first groups of rebels picking fights with Galbadia. My own boy went out there acting just like you, screaming about freedom and rights. You know where he is? Neither do I, because they never sent his body back home to me. Me, his own papa! He was going to school to be a teacher, he was dating a fine young woman who I adored, and then he ended up running off and throwing his life away because someone like you inspired him to challenge the system! And here I am, sitting here with enough freedom to have as much of this as I want so long as I can pay.

So you can take your idealism, your bull crap rhetoric, and your values and shove them right up that pretty behind of yours. When you liberate the city, you are going to turn around to cheer and see the charred remains of what is left of Timber as if burns to the ground in the fires of your war. Winning our right to be called Timber won't bring back my son, it won't bring back his lover Adona, and it certainly won't stop me from spending the rest of my life here with the only thing that gives me a small break from the pain that people like you have been causing us for years. Get the hell out of my face…"

Rinoa was shaking in a mix of rage and confusion. She had always been so sure of what she was doing… but this drunkard had opened her eyes to the harsh reality of what was happening. She wanted to say something to defend herself… defend her friends… but she couldn't find the words. Just as she was about to stutter out something, she stopped when a hand was placed on her shoulder. Looking back, she saw Naruto standing by her side and shaking his head. He pulled her into a gentle one armed hug before he placed a fresh bottle of a more expensive brand of whiskey in front of the man. Said drunk peered up and glared at Naruto, but the boy only stared back into his eyes.

"I get it old man, believe me. In struggles like these, sacrifices are made everyday on both sides. Nothing in the world… not freedom, not rights, not all the gold in Galbadia can bring back your boy. I know that feeling… watching someone throw their life away and knowing that no matter what justice is done, they will never come back. But, throwing their values and dreams to the ground in our anger is not how we honor those we cared for. My friend… he taught me something that has stuck with me ever since… and it was the very ideal that he imparted to me that caused him to throw his life away.

Like you, I felt a resentment toward him and his ideals for causing his death. But I realized quickly enough that if I truly cared about him, then I would honor his ideals and prove that they were something worth the sacrifice he made. Now, after years of trying to understand him, I hold those beliefs of his close to my heart. Your boy had a dream for your people, a dream for his lover, a dream for his future children… and a dream for you. That dream was so strong and so worthwhile that he put his life on the line for it. That sacrifice he made was his final gift to you, to everyone in Timber that he believed were more important than life itself.

I'm not saying that people should celebrate his death. I am saying that people should celebrate his life and what he believed in. Whenever you give in to the pain of your suffering and beg for Galbadia to succeed in their campaign, you spit on the memory of your son and the sacrifice he made to protect you. Think about that for a while old man, and have a drink on me."

Naruto left the old drunkard to his own thoughts while taking Rinoa back over to the team. She had calmed down significantly, though he chalked that up to her having time to just breath and think a while. Little did he know that with his words of wisdom, he had refueled the fire of resistance in her heart and saved her from falling into doubt. She would thank him later, but they had business to tend to. When the two of them reached Leon, he had already found a way to move a whale of a man out of the way of the back door where he had been relaxing in a chair.

"Oh good, you got the elephant seal to move further down the beach, good work." Naruto smiled cheerfully.

The entire team was looking at Naruto silently with curious and… awed expressions? Naruto wondered what was up with everyone, but then it dawned on him that he had just spoken about his past again. He had done so once before, but that had been a private conversation with Seifer back before the Ball. Mistaking their awed looks for curious and suspicious looks he couldn't help but sigh. Unbeknownst to him, the team were all feelng a deep respect for the maturity with which he had spoken. Sure, he had his moments, Leon knew this a little better than his team due to certain conversations they weren't privy to, but Selphie and Zell were just thrown for a loop.

Being the least surprised, Leon cleared his throat to get the attention of his team, "Er… yes, we had to purchase him a few drinks to get him to move, but he cooperated easily enough. We should move quickly, the Bartender was mentioning an upcoming announcement that would be shown on the monitors in here soon."

Rinoa looked confused so Naruto filled her in, "When you ran over to talk to the old man we found the back exit, but this huge guy was sitting right in front. Being drunk, he wasn't moving unless he had a reason. So, we had to promise him his favorite drink. Bastard wouldn't tell us which one, so we are now out a couple thousand Gil. Prices here are outrageous by the way."

Leon was at the door holding it open while he looked annoyed, "There is a whole lot of chitter chatting going on right now, and not enough moving along and getting ourselves into trouble. Let's go."

Naruto blinked and then wore a look of worry while pointing at Leon, "That sounded like a joke… you another one of those zombie imposters!?"

Leon buried his face into his hand while his fingers dug into his eyes to rub them roughly, "This is why I don't like jokes…"

* * *

The rush to reach the Television Station was uneventful once the team entered the back alley. Naruto and Rinoa waved toward the distant window and the children peeking out at them. At the base of the station tower the team stood and rested before the climb, and what a climb it would be. There was a winding, zigzagging stairwell built into the southern wall of the tower, leading straight up to a large monitor which provided a means for maintenance as well as a fire escape, considering the several dozen hatches that they could count built into the steel portions of the wall. Everyone seemed on edge, but the worst was Leon.

The stoic brunette stood with his arms crossed looking up at the towering structure with a troubled expression. In his head he couldn't figure out why on Gaia they were about to do this. He understood the resistance group needed a win today… but it was wise to know when you had lost. This pointless endeavor made absolutely no sense on paper, and out loud it wasn't winning him over either. The worst thing about the whole operation was the lack of forward planning. They had no idea what the guard detail would be like, no idea where they would corner the president, and for that matter they had no detailed floor plans for the building because it had been shut down for so long. What was their exit strategy? What were the contingency plans? How far up their… well, you know… were their heads?

Rinoa had let the SeeD team rest for only about three minutes before she was bouncing on the balls of her feet, "Okay guys, we better hurry. By my watch we only about ten minutes before this whole things starts!"

Naruto was sitting on an old tin rubbish bin, "Just another two minutes, Rinnie-chan, I am almost done…" Naruto was concentrating on a needle and threat he had pulled out of his tool pouch to repai the gaping hole on his pant leg.

Leon stepped over and patted Naruto on the shoulder to encourage his foreward thinking in repairing his gear before looking toward Rinoa, "How about we take the time he needs to quickly go over our objectives?"

Rinoa huffed and put her hands on her hips, "We go in, we catch Deling with his pants down, and then we conduct the negotiations for Timber's independence."

Leon's brow twitched, "Okay… so, which floor is he going to be on?"

Rinoa struck a thoughtful pose, "Erm… I think there is a working broadcasting studio on… the top floor."

"You think… well, that's good news… what kind of opposition can we expect?" Leon crossed his arms.

"We don't know for sure, since he snuck in under our radar. He will probably have all of the men who were on the decoy train, right?" Rinoa tilted her head a little.

"You're asking me? This is your operation, we haven't been monitoring these people as long as you have." Leon countered with an air of annoyance.

Rinoa was starting to pick up on his attitude and scowled, "Well, things change all the time, we can't always know where things are or how things will turn out. That's why we hired SeeD, to help pick up the slack we can't keep up with."

"You hired SeeD because your group of bumblers have no idea what you are actually doing." Leon brushed off the hand Naruto had placed on his shoulder to try and calm him down, "No, this whole thing has been a circus right from the moment Watts could barely remember the code phrase that **your** people established when you signed the contract with Headmaster Cid. Right from the start **my** team has been a hair's breadth from being killed just by associating with you clowns. And the cherry topper to this whole sour sundae is the original plan was a huge failure. You and your people have no idea what is going on and you aren't prepared for the consequences of losing this game."

Naruto looked down as he tried his best not to punch Leon in the face for being so rude. The problem was, he was right. The Forest Owls were playing a very dangerous game that so far they had only managed to evade losing with sheer luck. He remembered times when the pervert back in the Elemental Nations would send him into dangerous situations without plans, without proper resources, and sometimes the situations were just set-ups for him to be tested… though his tests were usually situations caused by the bastard's debts or deals. Regardless of his personal issues with the mission though, he was set and determined to do whatever it took to keep Rinoa out of harm's way.

Rinoa didn't back down, and she didn't yell like she had back in the Pub, instead she turned her back on the group, "What do you even know, Squall? You're someone who doesn't have a reason to fight. Maybe if you stopped for a second and let yourself dream…"

Leon looked taken back by her words and the calmness with which she spoke. In that moment she sounded much older than she was, like Naruto often spoke whenever he got serious. Before anyone could say anything, she ran off and up the stairwell toward the top of the station. Leon watched her until her shining black hair vanished behind the guard rails a few stories up. He then looked around at his team and they were watching him warily, waiting. Naruto didn't wait long before he put his thread away and stood up.

"Leon, just try to relax, catch up quickly though. I am going ahead to keep Rinnie out of danger." Naruto look off and leapt up to the first landing, before leaping up to the next few rapidly in a blonde and black blur.

Zell crossed his arms, "Dude, that was pretty harsh, even for you. They aren't so bad…"

Leon scowled up at the sky with his eyes shut, "Things have been stressful lately… I thought when I became SeeD things would be simple and easy. Follow orders and complete my mission… that was what I had been drilling into my head. This reality check… and all the mystery behind Naruto… it has had me on edge since we were still back in Balamb. This just happened to be the last straw."

Selphie walked over and poked him in the shoulder gently and then she spoke when his eyes were on her, "That's why we work in teams, Leon. You are supposed to be able to depend on us when things get stressful. We can always just talk these things out… work as a team to figure out the best way to solve problems."

Leon sighed and rubbed his temple lightly, "Okay… what do you guys think I should do? I need to fix this mess I've made."

"First thing is we need to catch up to those two, then when we convince Rinoa to bail on this you can apologize and just… explain yourself. Honesty is the best route, bro. Naruto taught me that while we were training together back in Balamb." Zell replied with a big grin and a flex of his arm.

Leon glanced back up at the long stairwell and then nodded, "All right, let's-"

"That's them, ambushed us while we were patrolling for the hijackers!" A voice nearby was yelling causing all three SeeD members to jump and ready their weapons.

At least a dozen Galbadian soldiers were rushing down the back alley they had used behind the Pub. They couldn't blame the bartender or the patrons for not stopping them considering the conditions in Timber. Leon took a step forward to first position with Zell behind him, already bouncing on his toes ready to fight. Selphie was in the rear casting several spells while channeling her magical essence through her nunchaku. The soldiers stopped and formed a semi-circle to block off the only exit from the area that wasn't already blocked by locked gates or garbage bins.

The soldier that had been slashed earlier was standing behind the fresh troops with his torso wrapped in stained bandages. He was one of four Elite Soldiers in the group, leaving the remaining eight in the standard blue rank and file uniforms. The Elites were already aiming their cannons at the team while the boys in blue held their longswords at the ready. Elite Dumb pointed his finger toward Zell as he almost growled in his rage, "That blonde one is the one who took out Lorenzo!"

"If I were you, I would be more worried about the much handsomer blonde right here, because I will show you… **No Mercy!** "

A powerful wide area Fire spell slamed into the backs of the four Elite causing them to cry out in pain before the sound of metal cutting the air drew the attention of everyone in the group. Leon looked behind the enemy and then he groaned. Standing in the alley behind the twelve Galbadian troopers was none other than Seifer Almasy in all his glory. His silver blade was glinting in the sunshine as it spun at incredible speeds, before stopping as he thrust it forward. The resulting thrust unleashed four powerful bursts of non-elemental magic that sliced like saw blades through the air. Before they could react, Elite Dumb and his three clones were practically divided down the middle with their chests bursting in a show of gore.

Leon used this moment of distraction to rush forward and take down two of the remaining lower ranked soldiers with a single heavy diagonal slash. Selphie let loose several bursts of Blizzard to freeze two more soldiers that a second later were smashed into thousands of pieces by a devastating shoulder charge from Zell. Seifer danced around the bodies littering the ground before skidding to a halt with his shoulder to Leon's, a grin plastered on his face.

"Good to see I wasn't too late for the party." Seifer eyed the remaining four enemies as they seemed shaken up but prepared.

Leon glanced at Seifer before groaning, "Just what are you doing here, Seifer?"

"Well I was just back home, minding my own business, when I overheard one of my wonderful handlers mention the mission you were sent on. I couldn't believe the stupidity of the Garden, so I broke out of there to lend a hand." Seifer sounded like he was describing a trip to town.

Zell moved into position in front of them, "Not like we needed any help you know…"

Seifer eyed Zell with an amused smirk, "What was that, Chicken Wuss?"

"Why you son of a-!" Zell grumbled viciously.

Selphie sighed, "Can we focus, please?!"

"Try to keep up, darky-senpai, and maybe I will teach you how to fight properly." Seifer challenged as he rushed forward past Zell to engage one of the soldiers.

Leon watched this with a bemused expression, but if one looked closely enough they might see the glint in his eyes signifying that he had accepted the challenge. He charged forward with his team and into the battle ahead with gusto.

* * *

Rinoa hadn't stopped running until she reached the service hatch on the top floor of the television station. She leaned against he wall with her hands covering her face, feeling a mix of anger and regret. She was so angry at so many things… angry with Squall for being a jerk, angry with herself for being so naïve, angry with Deling for being a scoundrel, and angry with her ex-boyfriend for the things he had said before their falling out. She had so many things on her mind that she just wanted to keep moving forward in hopes that something, anything would go right. The failure to capture the real Vinzer Deling had just been the latest rough patch, but it was just getting worse as time went on.

So distracted was she with her musings that she didn't see Naruto perched on the railing like a fox on his haunches. He was watching her with a somber expression wishing he could help. It took her a few minutes to get herself together, and when she saw him she nearly jumped out of her skin.

"Naru! Wow, you really need to make more noise." Rinoa tried to laugh.

Naruto hopped down onto the solid floor of the stairs and looked at her, "Rinnie-chan, try not to let Leon get to you. He is… a complicated man, you know? His emotions are all kind of locked in a steel box… deep, deep inside. In reality he is a real good guy, totally a badass too. We just need to keep kicking his butt until we can break that box open, okay?"

Despite herself Rinoa couldn't help but smile at her self-proclaimed big brother, "Okay… I'll try. I think I overreacted a couple times today…"

Naruto laughed and then gave the girl a big hug, "Girls don't overreact, they just have a lot more to say than men do."

"Boy that was a good answer. Ever think of teaching classes for men?" Rinoa teased while patting his head.

Naruto grumbled good naturedly before setting her down, "I got a lot of… training, I guess you can call it. Anyway, we should scout ahead so that when Leon and the team catch up we won't be going in completely blind. No engaging anyone, no running off, and definitely no sneezing, got it?"

Naruto used a kunai to stab into the service hatch near the latch and yank open the locking mechanism. The hatch led into a server room full of large monoliths of machinery that hummed with energy and lit up like the night sky. The shinobi took the lead so that Rinoa wouldn't unknowingly walk out in front of any patrolling guards or technicians working on the equipment for the broadcast. The place was eerily quiet, and Naruto began to feel uneasy. He gave Rinoa the gesture to stay back while he peeked around the end of one of the tall computers. No one… the damn place was a ghost town!

"Rinnie, I think we might be walking into a trap or something. Watch your steps and try to stay as close to me as possible. If something happens I want you to run hard and fast, and don't you even think about coming back for me. The team knows what to do if I am compromised." Naruto gave her a stern look to imply he knew very well how difficult it would be for her to follow his instructions.

Rinoa bit her lower lip while she frowned, but then she gave him a stiff nod of understanding. With her promise, Naruto moved on toward the only door in the room that was unblocked by piles of equipment and boxes. This door led to the backstage area of a studio that looked set up for some kind of… speech. Rinoa tugged on Naruto's jacket and whispered into his ear that this was their destination. Naruto looked toward the center stage location at a podium where a short and portly man was performing a sound check. Unseen technicians could be heard echoing orders for adjustments to be made.

"Still coming in too soft, give the audio jack a quick blow and then reconnect."

The portly man pulled a thick wire out of some unseen plug and blew toward the podium until his face turned red. When he plugged the cord back in her spoke, "How 'bout now, Herbert held hundreds of hexagons horizontally."

"Perfect, good job. Hold on… what… now?... okay… Better get out of there, we are going live in thirty seconds. President Deling is coming up the elevator now."

The portly little man jumped and quickly straightened out all the cords behind the podium so there wouldn't be a mess in the president's way. Once he was done he placed several sheets of prepared speech on the podium and scurried away toward a dark corner of the room in case he was needed. Rinoa gasped when she saw Vinzer Deling walk out of the elevator at the end of the hall to their right, an Naruto pushed her back and into the shadows so they wouldn't be seen. The older gentleman walked by in a suit identical to the one Gerogero had been wearing flanked by two Elite Soldiers in their formal uniforms, weapons deactivated and collapsed to provide better movement.

As the president took up position behind the podium his guards took positions on either side of him at attention, Galbadian flags positioned behind them proudly. The instrumental marching music of Galbadia was playing the entire time while Deling prepared for his speech, a prideful smirk on his face. Naruto could feel Rinoa stiffen behind him, and he took her hand gently to help calm her down. He reckoned the only feeling he could compare her grip to was the crushing pressure a woman giving birth could provide to the hand of her unlucky birthing coach.

As the music died down, Deling rose both hands into the air and smiled, "People of Galbadia… my brothers and sisters… I, President Vinzer Deling am speaking to you on the first wide area live broadcast in nearly twenty years. Let me be the first to say how proud I am of our brave men fighting the good fight on foreign soils to provide our people with the means to share our hearts and our message across this great continent!

I have traveled far from our jewel Deling City to our neighbors in proud Timber in order to send out this broadcast. I am sure that word has spread quickly of the recent attempt on my person, but rest assured that not only were we able to thwart their heinous crime, we were able to seek out and destroy their nest of dissidence not ten minutes ago. This small victory for our people is only a stepping stone to a better Timber, and ultimately a perfect Galbadia!"

Rinoa closed her eyes tightly knowing in her heart that Zone and Watts and the others were all right. There was no way her friends could be found out so easily, they were way smarter than they looked! With her resolve held strong she opened her eyes to glare venom and death toward the man speaking such filth and lies.

"A perfect Galbadia… something my predecessors fought for… something we have all fought for. Ladies and gentleman, my beloved countrymen, the perfect Galbadia is finally within our grasp. With no small amount of effort on my own part, and a great deal more from my staff, we were able to secure a meeting with someone of such wisdom and grace… This woman will lead Galbadia to a new golden age. I would have no other by my side as we consolidate all of the fractured pieces of our great world under one banner. I present to you our new ambassador… Lady Edea."

Naruto's eyes widened as he saw a complex matrix of runes and numerals spreading across the floor in the same strange style that had been used to seal Siren into that beast in Dollet. No one else seemed to notice it, but everyone took notice of the beautiful woman who seemed to just fade into existence. Her face was covered by a plain red mask, while her hair was adorned by a jewel encrusted headdress. Hugging all of her womanly curves was a deep purple dress that flowed to the floor pooling around her feet to drag upon the floor. The dress cut low revealing more than a proper lady would normally show and elegant black feathers formed a boa around her shoulders. Her hair flowed down her back as she walked and was parted behind her shoulders to accommodate a rather grandiose golden adornment on her back that fanned up like the tail of a peacock.

Naruto stared intensely at his woman while his head pounded. Slowly the red mask turned toward him and even though they were hidden in the darkness, he knew she was looking right at him… right into his eyes. Suddenly there was a sharp tug on his senses, like something was attempting to attack his mind. As it continued he felt the mental link with his Mindscape strengthen and soon a familiar voice spoke angrily.

" _ **Kit, just what exactly have you gotten yourself into this time?!"**_

' _Kurama? I'm not sure what is going on, there is this freaky woman here staring at me and my head feels like someone is digging a kunai up my nose.'_

" _ **A mind attack, huh? This takes me back to the good old days when the Yamanaka renegades would try to make you hurt yourself with their cute tricks. I remember that one time-"**_

' _Kurama, brother, I would love to hear this little story, but I would like this to end some time this month…'_

" _ **Kids these days have absolutely no respect for their older siblings… fine, sit tight… I think the others will want to have their fun with this."**_

Naruto sat tight for a few moments as he kept rubbing his temples. Those eerie golden eyes were locked to his cerulean gems and he could swear he saw a look of disbelief in them. Suddenly, he felt the familiar tug on his mind, and he let the pull take him deep within his Mindscape. When he opened his eyes he found the chamber empty, though the platforms were still there. He became worried for a moment until he felt a small touch of cold on his cheek. While others may have found such a sensation odd, he smiled and felt reassured. Though, reassured or not, he did have to wonder just what the heck the Guardians were planning…

* * *

Sorceress Edea Kramer was a woman of grace, guile, and unmatched magical power. Over the course of a mere month she had successfully seduced the Galbadian president to allow her complete access to the resources and military might of the second most powerful political state in the world. That had only taken a few cleverly worded conversations, some irresistible promises of power… and a hot night in the Presidential Palace. She was the single most desired woman in the world, both politically and socially, and damn was she proud of it. Besides her silver tongue and hourglass figure, the woman was a magical god with no equal!

That being said… she found herself feeling completely powerless trying to possess the mind of the young sorceress that had been hiding away in the shadows. The girl was powerful, but her power was so well hidden that Edea had no idea what kind of power the child was packing. Using her skill with essence manipulation, she sought out the hidden pool of magic and thought to steal it away from the girl. There was no use for a rival, no matter how convenient having another body to succeed her in the case that she ever suffered injury or illness. All of her musings had distracted her from her prey and so she hadn't noticed at first that her efforts to Draw away the young girl's essence had failed… several times. Discovering her troubles, Edea redoubled her efforts to quicken the process.

After several moments had passed she grew angry, _'What is this…? How can this whelp contend with me?!'_

Edea felt a violent tug on her mind that caused her immense pain. Her illusion faded from the podium area while her body behind the curtains collapsed to the floor. Deling kept on about the future plans of Galbadia as he had been ordered, and no one noticed the strange happenings besides Rinoa. The poor girl was holding onto Naruto's suddenly sleeping body while trying to wake him without making noise. Her efforts were in vain, but somehow she felt that Naruto was all right. It might have been the goofy grin he was wearing in his sleep…

Inside the Mindscape Naruto sat waiting patiently while seated in a lotus position. None of the Guardians had returned from where ever they were hiding, though he could still feel the comforting chill of Shiva's winter breeze on his cheek. As he sat with his eyes closed and relaxed he was searching through his mind for the intruder. She was obviously somewhere in the winding tunnels trying to find her way out, and when he found her he tried to guide her toward him by shifting the walls around. This seemed to help, and before he knew it he could hear the echoes of splashing water growing closer. Knowing he would have company, he stood up and patted down his legs to try and appear as clean as possible, though he conveniently forgot that in his Mindscape he only appeared as he thought he appeared.

Edea had fallen into the depths of some kind of… sewer. The water soaked into her dress and her elegant heels beneath were sure to be ruined. As she walked she could feel multiple sources of power, some stronger than others… it was not a comforting sensation. At first the tunnels seemed to have no end and led in circles, but soon enough the turns and intersections ended and she was walking down a straight tunnel with nearly waist deep water. Wet, frustrated, and altogether perturbed, Edea was caught completely off guard when she found a set of steps leading up and out of the flooded tunnel. She practically swam over to the steps to escape the wretched waters below, but when she reached he top she stopped dead in her tracks.

Standing in the center of a large cavernous room was a boy with sunshine blonde hair and dressed in dark clothes. He seemed to be waiting for something… was he waiting for her?

"Yo, I was wondering who the heck was in here, Edea, right?" The boy spoke almost too casually.

Edea strode closer to him until the two were a mere five feet apart and she put every effort into appearing dignified in her soaked dress and disheveled hair, "You may call me Mistress, my young pet."

The boy snorted before laughing which caused Edea to scowl, "Are you for real? Am I suddenly stuck in Icha Icha?"

"I wouldn't know where we are… though, I suspect that you do…" Edea spoke rather darkly as her annoyance only grew.

"Oh crap, where are my manners? I haven't introduced myself, which as many of the readers will confirm is totally rude. Ahem… my name is Uzumaki Naruto… you can switch those around to make it easier if you need to..." Naruto rubbed the back of his neck as he grumbled about people with weird naming systems.

Edea was beginning to think the boy was out of his mind… and she was wondering what he meant when he said something about readers… she shrugged that thought away in light of the situation at hand, "I see… Uzumaki… odd name. Regardless, where exactly are we?"

"This would be my mind. Pretty empty, huh? Yeah... that doesn't imply anything. Anyway, you are here because you tried to mess around with my magic, and that is directly connected to my mind. Can't have you meddling around where you don't belong, granny." Naruto pulled down his eye lid.

Edea could feel her blood pressure rising, even during this odd out of body experience, but she kept her cool for the moment as she tried to work out how to escape, "This place shouldn't exist, the mind has no such manifestation."

"You would think that! The way it was explained to me is that… magic was used to create a place inside my body to house a great deal of powerful magical essence. This spell or ritual… formed a sort of canal that connected my essence to the foreign essence. The canal was created in such a way that the flow of essence between the two could be increased, decreased, completely tapered off or completely released. Something tore the foreign essence from my body, but the connection remained dormant until I needed it." Naruto felt a little dizzy after trying to explain so much theory nonsense, but Raikiri would be proud of his ability to remember the long winded lectures that he had given Naruto to explain how the Mindscape had survived Kurama's forced eviction.

Edea scowled, "That makes no sense… there is no such thing. Now tell me the truth!"

Naruto sighed, "Just because you don't believe me doesn't make it any less true. Take it or leave it, granny."

"What possible reason could you have to make such a place active again if this supposed essence was removed?!" Edea growled out angrily, her red mask giving her a menacing look.

Naruto looked almost disinterested, "My friends like it here."

"What friends?!" Edea all but demanded, but she would soon regret her words.

Out of the darkness around the two of them several incredibly powerful sources of magic lit up like beacons in the night. Looking around, the sorceress felt a heavy weight fall over her consciousness that nearly brought her to her knees. As her eyes frantically scanned their surroundings her heart, well her mind's interpretation of a heart, quickened into a rapid pace when she saw them. From the shadows walked several beings of great power, all familiar and yet… far from the same Guardians that she was aware of. These entities gave off a radiance that she could hardly believe.

"These… these cannot be… the Guardians?!" Edea stumbled over her words as the combined might of the Guardians crashed over her.

Naruto looked around to find all but Siren and Diablos in present company, the former preferring to steer away from conflict and the latter probably still reluctant to aid him. Still, even with only three Guardians present, the sight of a giant fire demon, a beautiful snow goddess surrounded by floating shards of razor sharp ice, and a giant golden bird surrounded by pulses of electricity was damn intimidating. Shiva exchanged a quick look with Naruto before the two of them smiled and returned their attention to the gawking sorceress before them. Naruto took several steps towards the woman before stopping and crossing his arms, the three looming forces of nature standing behind him acting as one bad ass backdrop that he only wished he could get on camera.

Gesturing behind him with a grand showing of hand movements and gestures, he spoke clearly and with a flair that would inspire circus ring masters world wide, "Guessed it in one! Behold, the Guardians of Gaia! Entities of pure, raw magic that oversee our world and keep us from suffering in chaos! They who have taken pity on my worthless life to shower me with their blessings! I am but a humble servant charged to speak in their stead when the world is upturned and in need of their divine hand!"

Edea was stunned into silence, and the Guardians were each wearing blank expressions while listening to this ridiculous fanfare. Naruto pointed his hand toward the sorceress with a grim expression on his face. On the inside he was rolling in mirth at the sight of her horrified expression. He couldn't wait for the next bit…

"You, sorceress, have violated my mind and disrespected the Guardians by setting foot here. Your punishment… is **death**!" Naruto grew very grave and the shadows seemed to play tricks and give his eyes a very eerie glow.

Low growling erupted behind Edea causing her to jump and turned to face what new devil had emerged to take her. She froze as dread filled her soul. Two large red eyes were glowing in the darkness of the chamber, a darkness that was slowly closing in on the six beings currently trapped in the Mindscape. Another growl rumbled that nearly sent the woman to her knees once more, but the sight of razor sharp teeth slowly forming a lecherous, greedy grin succeeded. The look in those eyes and the tongue lashing out to trace the teeth that now glowed like diamonds spoke of hunger… a hunger for her…

" **My, my… another of you humans wandering to places you don't belong… all the better for me."** The mouth never moved, but the voice echoed clear as day from all around the darkness.

In a flash of speed that no human, at least no normal human, could follow Edea was knocked to her back and pinned beneath a large red paw. Two claws dug into her shoulders. Her eyes shut tight at the not-pain that her mind tricked her into believing was true. When her eyes opened she caught sight of a beast unlike any monster that existed. The great beast was colored like the burning sky of a sunset with thick fur that seemed to sway in a nonexistent breeze. Those teeth glinted in a grin giving it the Cheshire smile of nightmares. Leaning down close to her, it snapped those teeth at her face to intimidate her. To her credit, she didn't flinch, though it may have been the paralyzing fear… or the giant paw.

" **Trespasser… if you so desire to be here, then you must pay your dues."**

Kurama forced his vast magical essence into her through the connection that brought her to the Mindscape. The woman wretched in a soundless cry as her face showed signs of quiet agony. As Naruto watched he almost felt pity… but not really. The bitch had made an attempt to seize control of the wrong empty head. Slowly, a trail of strange magical essence erupted from Edea's open mouth like a ghostly spirit. Naruto watched in slight awe as the essence formed into a sphere of light, and then the light faded to reveal several small pockets of multicolored light floating around inside. The orb, which he idly compared to a snow globe, floated over to him before hovering in front of him as if waiting for something.

" **I can't let her go back to her body without some kind of compensation. When I dove into her mind to… punish her… I stole a little souvenir."** Kurama was grinning from ear to ear in satisfaction as he let go of Edea's limp body to allow her to fade back into her own body.

Shiva walked over to the strange globe of lights and tilted her head, **"There is a lot of energy here. What exactly did you steal, brother Kurama?"**

Kurama walked over slowly before sitting on his haunches and relaxing, **"I merely wished to take anough of her magical essence to render her helpless and fearful. There was no real need to kill her, so she would have been spared. But then I noticed something about her… something in her mind. Unlike the humans we have been traveling with, this woman did not possess spells so much as an understanding of how to manipulate the elements."**

" **Of course, she was a sorceress. Unlike the humans who utilize equipment to harness the natural energies of magic, sorceresses posses the ability to naturally weave spells. There were once many humans who could harness magic without Junctioning or equipping augmented weapons or armor, but there have only been a handful of humans who could actually master all forms of magic. One must be born with naturally large reserves of raw magic essence…"** Shiva trialed off slowly near the end of her thoughts while her eyes drifted toward Naruto.

"Hang on… I was never very good at theory… can someone please explain to me all this magical mumbo jumbo?" Naruto said slowly while rubbing his temples.

Raikiri spoke next using a tone that was very reminiscent of the tone teachers often used to sound professional, **"I will try to be simple as we only have perhaps another ten minutes before you must return to consciousness. On the lowest levels of magic is raw magical essence, or energy if you prefer a simpler term. Every living entity on Gaia generates a small pool of this essence inside their body, and its limitations are based on genetics and lifestyle. If the parents are gifted with their magic, then their offspring will inherit a naturally above average essence pool. However, should that child not exercise their magic through study and practice, this pool may never grow, while a child born with very low reserves may surpass them in time should they work very hard.**

 **Because the natural order of the world revolves around change, or evolution, several forms of magical essence have been born of different natural conditions. Take for instance the Fire Caverns of Balamb Garden. The intense heat has influenced the raw magical essence of the creatures within to form Fire essence, which in turn brings more change to both those creatures and the environment within. The monsters known as Bombs are perhaps the most concentrated Fire essence creatures on the planet. Brother Ifrit is most at home within the caverns because he thrives while surrounded by all of the ambient fire essence.**

 **The spell that had been used on you, Zombie, had been formed with concentrated Death essence. This kind of essence is often formed in areas of land heavily effected by war and death. It would make sense that Galbadians would have access to such a being as Gerogero considering all of the death their people have brought to the world. There are a great deal more types to explore and study, but I will leave such things for another time. Now we have explored the first two levels of magical essence, that leaves one last level, Sentient Essence.**

 **Sentient Essence is the most potent form of raw magical essence, one which has a mind of its own and can generate near infinite amounts of magic. We Guardians are among such beings, and while I am sure there are more somewhere, we are all that is known on this world. Each of us has a mind of our own, physical bodies, and the freedom to choose our elemental affinities. Our power is so vast that we effect the very world around us, and can manipulate nearly every aspect of reality, except the flow of time as a whole. For all our power, we cannot stop the natural order of time. Diablos may slow, speed up, or stop certain pockets of movement, but this kind of magic is very limited and cannot effect the natural aging of biology."**

Naruto held up his hand in a very childish manner, though all it did was serve to amuse the entity speaking. Raikiri nodded his head to the young man to acknowledge him, "You said that each of you is free to choose your elemental affinities. I have heard before that you, Ifrit and Shiva were of the first generation of Guardians to emerge, and that each of you were born to your affinities?"

Raikiri nodded his head slowly, **"Very perceptive, Naruto. Yes, we have mentioned such in passing before. You are not mistaken. We three were born first, as in nature Fire, Ice, and Lightning were among the first and strongest magics to emerge from… the raw magic of the world. Each of us were created to maintain these magics, and while we were given choice, each of us found a strong connection to one or another. I have spent many thousands of years pondering this, but I have come to enjoy the theory that fate gave us each a predetermined role to fill, and none of us have ever found cause to complain."**

Naruto seemed satisfied with the answer. His eyed moved back to the odd orb of lights before them as he spoke again, "So what does all of this have to do with this… thing, here?"

" **Brother Kurama may have stolen more than simply a gathering of many essence from the sorceress… he may have stolen her ability to harness the elemental essence beyond the simple spells your friends utilize in battle. If so, and you combine that ability with your vast raw magical reserves…"** Shiva began hoping he would follow up.

Naruto's eyes widened significantly as he slapped his fist down on his open palm, "I might actually be able to cast magic! I will have my elemental abilities back!"

Ifrit chose this time to speak up for he first time, **"Little human… what do you mean you will have them back?"**

Naruto looked at the armored fire demon and smiled, "Back in my old world humans could harness many elemental abilities through intense studying of theory, and then rigorous practice. Due to natural weaknesses and strengths proper study and practice could take a lifetime. I only knew two men who could utilize all five of our basic elements, and one of them struggled with many of the more powerful tricks that he had… acquired… over his years of service."

" **You mean to say that you could gather elemental essence without drawing it from around you?"** Raikiri asked quickly, sounding excited by the tiniest little rise in his voice.

Naruto nodded, "Yes, we had exercises that we could do to help learn how to generate elemental… er… elemental…?"

Kurama spoke softly to help his little brother with an unreadable expression, **"Chakra, Naruto…"**

Naruto looked at Kurama and blinked before turning to the others, "Right… right, chakra… we would perform tasks using most anything that we could find. I was very strong with… wind, yeah. I had to slice a leaf in half with only my… chakra."

Kurama looked down at Naruto while he struggled to remember his training. While his face was passive and unmoving, inside his heart ached. He wondered how Naruto was feeling about his memory failures right then… how he was handling it all. Without their direct connection he had no way of reading the boy's feelings anymore, unless they were overwhelming him. He regretted spending so much time lazing about in the Mindscape and listening to the other Guardians use the boy as a convenient communication hub. From now on, he would have to make time to speak with Naruto more to make sure he wasn't bottling up any of his troubles…

"So… I should try to absorb this thing, right?" Naruto asked while gently poking at the orb of lights and watching the surface flex like the surface of a pond.

Kurama shook from his thoughts and grinned, **"Yes Naruto, place your entire hand on the surface and Draw it into you, like you have done before with monsters."**

Naruto hesitated for only a moment before he shook it off and smiled, his confidence building as he readied for whatever was about to happen… and then he placed his palm flat against the orb and…

* * *

Leon stood panting and sweating, his legs shaking from the adrenaline pumping through him. His focus was solely on the soldiers currently swarming their group. At first, upon the arrival of Seifer, the small ambush had suffered heavy losses. Then, after the last four had been disposed of, another group of soldiers had flanked them from behind the television station. Apparently, one of the soldiers had been quick enough to trigger a silent alarm that sent an alert to surrounding troops in the area. With the president in town, and in the very television station they were fighting near, an elite guard close by responded with a small armored division.

The initial count had been at two mechanized units with heavy armor, but no armaments along with a six man infantry unit of two Elite Soldiers and four blue clad Lieutenants. Using their most powerful spells the team had been able to destroy one of the mechs, but the troops easily pushed them back before they could regroup on the second. With that heavy armor unit in place, evasive maneuvers were out of the question, forcing them to have to fight their way out. The only saving grace was the full retreat that was issued only moments ago, but the only relief that provided was a lack of reinforcements.

Leon caught his breath and eyed the four Lieutenants in front of him, each looking full of confidence and energy. By his side stood Seifer leaning forward on his sword that was pierced into the ground at his feet. Never before had he seen his blonde counterpart so exhausted, but his heavy use of Fire and Fira spells so far had left him drained mentally, and the constant back and forth with the swordsmen they were fighting had left his body no better off. Cyan eyes glanced over to make contact with Leon's before they closed and a grin spread across Seifer's face.

"You know, even though we're probably about to die, this is so much better than what I had planned on doing when I got here…" Seifer said with a half amused tone.

Leon tilted his head slightly, "Bad ideas seem to be the theme here in Timber… I'll bite though, what were your plans?"

Seifer stood up straight and swung his blade up and over his right shoulder casually, "Rush in, take the president hostage, and then… hell, I didn't have any plans beyond that. I just… I just wanted to help."

"Thank the Guardians you didn't do something that stupid. Imagine the look on Naruto's face if he saw you doing that." Leon mused with an almost amused tone.

Seifer barked out a single loud harrumph, "The look of envy that I got around to being the idiot before he could, you mean?"

Leon felt the rush of air from an explosive spell behind them where Selphie was supporting Zell with spell fire. Even with that backdrop, he felt calm, and his amusement at the very idea of it made him smile, "Hadn't thought of that…"

The Lieutenants ahead of them parted as the mechanized unit shuffled forward to stike again. Leon knew he didn't have enough strength to cast anymore Thunder spells to stall it, so he readied his blade and cracked his neck, "Looks like they are done playing around. Ready?"

Seifer scoffed and readied the last of his Fire essence, "Not really, but maybe it'll be fun. Just wish I could have told her I was sorry…"

Leon wasn't too sure who he was talking about, but at the moment he wasn't going to push for answers with a metal monster about to tear them limb from limb. Said monstrosity let loose a loud grinding screech as th four crab legs prepared for a leap. Time slowed down as the legs bent and then it launched for them. Seifer had already cast his final Fire spell to try and slow the momentum of the robotic beast. There wasn't even time to prepare a mana round in the chamber of his gunblade. Could he evade…? No, his legs weren't strong enough after so much fighting. Instead of falling to his fear, he merely closed his eyes in acceptance.

 _Stupid mission… stupid Headmaster Cid… stupid Seifer for getting involved in their fight… stupid Naruto for running after their stupid client… that stupid little… beautiful monster._

The silence of the calm that had settled over them was broken by the sound of intensely focused electricity screaming in the air like the cries of hundreds of birds. It grew louder so quickly that Leon didn't have time to open his eyes before the sound was joined by the tell-tale sound of metal groaning and being sliced apart. Two loud crashes sounded and when he opened his eyes he couldn't believe his eyes. Standing before him was Naruto, his coat open and loose and flicking in the swift breeze sent by the falling robot. His small gunblades were held in his hands and sparking with brilliant blue Thunder magic. A few yards away sat the once intimidating crab mech in two halves, the soldiers inside laying dead on the ground with electricity arcing all over their unmoving corpses.

"You guys relax. I got this." Naruto said in an eerily calm voice that sent shivers down both Leon and Seifer's spines.

Naruto dashed forward and used the now lifeless mech to kick off and up into the air. Holding his right hand in front of his chest with his pointer and middle fingers held straight up and pinched together, he gathered Fire essence before the spell was launched. Leon's eyes widened as he watched a Fire spell take the form of... some kind of roaring monster with a long neck and horned head. He was reminded of a mythological creature of fantasy… a dragon? The Fire dragon slammed into the ground and an explosion equivalent of several focused Firaga spells erupted sending the four Lieutenants flying in several directions. All were missing portions of their now blackened bodies.

As Naruto fell he suddenly exploded into a small cloud of dust. Leon and Seifer blinked before exchanging looks of confusion. A loud screaming from behind them caused both to jump and spin around to their flank. Both let their jaws drop simultaneously. There were two more… copies?... of Naruto fighting the two Elites that Zell and Selphie had been holding off. Zell was down taking a knee while Selphie was healng a nasty bullet wound on his shoulder. Both were watching the battle in awe as the swordsmen were.

Naruto's clones had fallen into the fight a mere two seconds after the first had intercepted the mech. They had rushed forward to close in on the Elites and eliminate their annoying hand cannons. While they were competent in melee combat, Elites depended more on their ranged weapons for damage, so the short melee had been very one-sided. The Naruto clones had pushed the two of them back several yards… and then both smirked. The area they had led the two Elites to was more open and perfect for their next move. Both clones leapt back a few yards and placed their four palms against the ground. The stone beneath the feet of the Elites rumbled before lifting rapidly into two walls that closed swiftly on the Elites. There was a sickening crunch, and Selphie had to turn away from the sight as her stomach turned.

Both clones exhausted the magic they had been given and then exploded into dust. The real Naruto suddenly landed amongst them with Rinoa hanging on his back, "Glad I was able to get back in time. Sorry about the mess those two caused, Selphie."

Everyone turned to look at him as he laughed sheepishly. Leon was the first to find his voice, "Naruto, we're glad to see you back in one piece, and with the client unharmed. I have to ask though… how did you… those spells… actually, never mind, we don't have time for that. Everyone, we need to retreat before someone comes to find these guys."

Rinoa was transfixed on the blonde swordsman who was staring right back at her with an intense look that wasn't angry or scowling or hungry… but relieved. It confused her that he wasn't acting like… himself for a change. Maybe she was jumping to conclusions, after all they were in a battle zone. For some reason though, she could tell there was something different about him just by his eyes. Those pretty cyan eyes that had always admired her womanly curves and never saw past the shallow assets of her flesh. Right then, as the two exchanged silent looks, it was like he was looking at _her_ for the first time.

She was knocked out of her musings by the shaking of Naruto's shoulder, "Huh… wha?"

Naruto chuckled at her eloquent response, "I was asking if you were okay. You zoned out there for a second. We need a place to regroup."

"Oh… uhh… we should head back through the Pub. There will be people who can help us back in town, but we need to take it slowly, we don't know how many troops are still around." Rinoa replied while tightening her arms around Naruto's neck.

Leon nodded, "Okay, let's go, but we take it slow as she said. Seifer, for now I am the leader of this team so stick with us and we'll figure out what to do about your situation as soon as we can get in contact with Garden."

Seifer looked like he wanted to say something, but he schooled himself and just smirked, giving a brief nod of his head before strapping his blade to his belt. Zell took up second position in the middle of the group while he recovered from the phantom pain of the wounds Selphie had healed. Selphie took up the rear with Naruto and Rinoa still perched on his back. Seifer and Leon took up first position at the front, which made Naruto smile as the two of them seemed almost sociable, which was a huge step forward in the right direction for both of them. He had no idea how much he had influenced these changes, and much more in the grand scheme, but maybe someday he would reflect on the events of Dollet and Timber and come to realize his influence on two very difficult men.

The short walk along the back alley was quiet, almost too quiet, and it had everyone on edge except Naruto. The back door of the Pub was closed, and when they drew close Leon reached for the handle only to jump back when something slammed into the metal door on the inside. A groan followed by pleading was soon silenced as another loud thump followed, shaking the door nearly off its hinges. Whimpering followed the second thump, and then the sound of something being dragged away. The team exchanged glances before Leon slowly took hold of the door handle. Everyone got their weapons half ready, except Naruto who was grinning at the back of the group. He could already tell what was going on due to a very familiar scent in the air.

Leon opened the door and then everyone froze with eyes as wide as saucers. Standing by a heaping pile of unconscious bodies dressed in blue and red was former Instructor Quistis Trepe in all her angelic glory. It was a strange sight to see the woman who had always seemed to have a very light touch and soft spoken voice… standing triumphantly before the whimpering and bloody mass of arms, legs, and bruises. When she turned she had a pleasant smile on her face, but that smile faded when the object of her ire came into view. Naruto noticed her eye Seifer like a rat in the kitchen, and the crack of her whip as she lashed at the floor in anger caused the whole SeeD group to jump.

"Seifer Almasy, you are in a world of trouble young man!" Quistis shouted while snapping her now coiled whip between her hands tightly.

Everyone took a mechanical step away from Seifer making him feel incredibly nervous and vulnerable. He had enough wherewithal to look embarrassed as he rubbed the slick hair on the back of his head, "Well hello there… Instructor Trepe… why on earth are you here?"

Quistis narrowed her eyes as she practically stomped over to them, her eyes locked on Seifer, "You know damn well why I am here, Mister Almasy. You violated Garden policy AI23H-7D which states that all students placed under House Arrest are only permitted off Garden premises during times of emergency or during evacuation drills, and only under supervision by a SeeD Agent or Garden Faculty Staff member."

Somehow her voice, while she was only reciting a trivial bit of Garden Rules and Regulations, caused Seifer to sweat under his heavy long coat, "I am well aware of the disciplinary policies, Instructor…"

Quistis interrupted him with an angry stare, "I am no longer an Instructor, I am a reinstated SeeD Agent, and as such I have the authority to take you into custody and return you to the nearest Garden for further disciplinary actions."

Naruto watched Leon, of all people, suddenly step in front of Quistis and stare her down. To her credit, she didn't flinch, but her gaze became questioning and confused, "Agent Squall, I was sent by direct order of Garden to retrieve this renegade cadet, I would ask you to step aside."

Leon crossed his arms and sighed, "I am afraid now is not the best time to parade around Timber with him on a leash. I would recommend you accompany us with Cadet Almasy until we have secured safe exit from Timber. Together we can travel to Galbadia Garden, and you can continue your mission from there. Is that acceptable?"

Quistis didn't seem put out in the slightest as she brought her hand to her chin in a thoughtful pose. After silently weighing her options she sighed and then nodded, "I concur, the hostility in Timber was more troublesome than I anticipated. For now Seifer and I will act as temporary support for the duration of your mission in Timber."

"All right already, all of this mushy military bonding is endearing and whatnot, but let's move along, shall we?" Naruto interjected as he pushed his way through the team to stand by their side, "We need a safe house so we can regroup and plan our getaway."

A clearing throat brought everyone's attention to the bartender behind the bar. The older gentleman had his eyes shut in a tired, or bored, expression as his hands idly polished a glass with a rag. Opening hi eyes to peer out at the group, he glanced between them and then his eyes looked at the pile of soldiers incapacitated on the floor. When his eyes locked back on the SeeD team he seemed to focus on Rinoa.

His voice was casual as he spoke, "You know… when times are tough like this here… the Foxes tend to hide away in their dens…"

Rinoa seemed to stiffen on Naruto's back before she whispered into his ear, "Naru, the house with the view…"

Naruto was silent for a moment before realization struck and he nodded. Nudging Leon, the two exchanged a look before Naruto walked off toward the main entrance of the Pub. Leon gave the signal to follow to his fellow SeeD and soon enough the teens were walking in a casual group toward the exit. The bartender watched the group disappear out the door before he glanced with disgust at the soldiers. He touched a button under his bar to signal for a clean up. His bouncers would be glad to sacrifice a few minutes of their lunch break for such… menial labor.

* * *

There is a saying in Timber… No matter how sharp the blade, Timber will always offer Resistance. Some scoff at the notion, but the oldest citizens of Timber know that such words ring true. Around every corner, and in every nook and cranny, one can find the Resistance groups of Timber working tirelessly in an effort to liberate the city-state. Some are larger, and some are smaller, and there is even one with only a single official member. The Forest Fox, a group closely affiliated with the Forest Owls, was the smallest faction working underground. The sole member… a mysterious woman by the name of Gray Fox. Often times she was a woman of few words, and on the off chance that one could meet with her, she would never show her face.

Currently, Gray Fox was on high alert because the city had been put under lock down. Rumors of an attempt on the president of Galbadia were flowing in through the short range radios used to keep tabs on Galbadian Soldier movement. The full retreat had come as a big surprise, though she was sure that the Galbadians wouldn't be abandoning the city for long. Where was this mysterious woman, one might ask? Of course she was standing in a small kitchenette baking a tray of fresh chocolate chip cookies. The best place to remain hidden is in plain sight, after all. Should the Galbadian military perform a spot census check, she would need to be right where she ought to be. She was leaning against the counter by the oven with her arms closed, just waiting for the cooking timer to buzz.

Her warm, friendly dark eyes glanced over at the timer on the top of the stove and she watched the last few seconds tick by. Just as the small device began to buzz, there came a knocking at the door. A smile spread across her lips as she recognized the knocking pattern. Only one dainty hand ever knocked like that, and she was glad to hear it rapping ever so lightly on her chamber door. She bent low to removed the cookies from the oven so they wouldn't burn, and then she walked over to the door with a towel rubbing the heat from her hands gently. When she opened the door, she saw such a gathering that it almost caught her off guard had she not already seen most of them. She gestured them inside without a word, and soon seven teenagers hustled into her warm home. The young girl she was the most familiar with, and who had knocked on the door, was surprisingly riding on the back of a handsome young rogue with dazzling blue eyes that reminded her of her husband who worked and managed the Pub.

After closing and securing the locks on the door, the elder woman gave them a kind smile before speaking, "There is a guest room, upstairs and the second on the right. Please, rest if you like. I have fresh cookies sitting there in a bowl, feel free to take it with you. I would have a quick word with you, Princess."

Leon exchanged looks with his team before giving them a quick nod. Zell snagged the proffered cookies eagerly on his way toward the stairs, though he did get a reproachful look from Quistis. The last two SeeD members left were Leon and Naruto, the latter of which had placed Rinoa down on her own feet and was just checking to be sure that she had everything he had put in his pockets to hold for her, which included a data pad. The data pad was a small device with very few functions. It looked like a flat piece of plastic with a touch screen like the kind used by Instructors back in Garden, only much smaller and with hardwire connectors instead of the newer wireless tech that had been installed in Garden facilities. Leon gave Naruto a look that told him he would have some explaining to do, and surprisingly Naruto smiled and gave him an affirmative nod, before both left the two women alone.

As soon as the young men had left up the stairs and the door upstairs closed with a soft click echoing down the stairs, all traces of the friendly woman were gone and replaced with aged professionalism. She looked at Rinoa with slightly narrowed eyes, her focus solely on the young woman.

"I have been hearing a lot of chatter on the radios about a certain operation… what were you thinking?" Gray Fox asked while crossing her arms.

Rinoa chuckled softly while rubbing her neck, "Well… the train thing was my idea… and so was the television station… I might have lost my cool."

The elder woman sighed heavily and rubbed her forehead with her palm, "Lord… girl, this whole mess has left Timber in a state of severe unrest. Not to mention what happened to the Owls."

Rinoa suddenly lost all traces of her usual perkiness and her visage sank into despair, her eyes glistening. Gray Fox saw this and quickly drew the young woman into her arms to hold her while she cried. Shushing her sobs gently the elder woman let a sympathetic smile cross her lips, "Hush child… you have nothing to be worried about. The Galbadians destroyed your base, yes, but the Owls are still around."

Rinoa looked into the eyes of the elder woman with hope sparkling in her eyes, "Are you sure? The president announced that they had… they had…"

"Shh, my sweet girl, do you really think those scum would be able to outsmart Zone and Watts? They can be a couple of bumblers, much like their fathers were, but they are clever. Like true owls, they are always wiser than their prey. I was informed to expect you and your mercenaries would be on your way here. Watts will be dropping by within the hour with information, so you just sit tight and let me take care of things down here." Gray Fox flashed a very foxy grin that promised mischief for any Galbadians attempting to get into her den.

Rinoa sniffed away her tears and allowed a small laugh to express her relief. She had been telling herself that everyone had been okay ever since she watched that smug bastard Deling announce his victory, but hearing it was a thousand times better than simply wishing it were so. After composing herself she left Gray Fox to continue her work so she could rejoin the team upstairs. What she found when she entered the room… nearly had her falling over in laughter.

Sitting in the center of the guest room on a plain straight backed wood chair was one Uzumaki Naruto. His jacket was gone, laying to the side on one of the two twin beds, as were his two daggers laid carefully on the folded jacket. His entire body was tied to the chair with his arms down at his sides, his own razor wires used to secure him. His ninja sandals were sitting to the side and he was wearing a pair of thick tube socks with a set of very old looking boots on his feet. To say that he looked uncomfortable was saying that Zell liked hotdogs.

Seifer and Leon were both standing by the tied up blonde with very smug looks on their faces; Leon was even smirking a little! Each of them was keeping their eyes on him for any funny business. Selphie and Quistis were each sitting on one of the twin beds watching the whole spectacle with curious, albeit amused, faces. Zell was the only odd ball not having any of the whole thing, instead looking out the window while munching on the still warm cookies that he was clearly enjoying… possibly a little too much by the occasional moan escaping his throat. As Rinoa shut the door, Naruto noticed her and struggled against the wires with renewed vigor.

"R-Rinnie! Oh sweet Kami, you're here! Help me!" Naruto all but yelled as he activated the fox-kit-eyes technique.

Rinoa shut the door slowly and Naruto watched her hand lock it, a feeling of foreboding filling him and sending shivers through his spine. Her grin began as a small tugging, but then spread to Cheshire cat proportions like Kurama had earlier! He could swear she was related to Kurama by the toothiness of that damn grin, but he knew it was more like… a universal look that siblings all wore when they caught their elders right where they want them to be. When she spoke, it was with a voice so sweet he just knew he would need to visit the dental physician back in Balamb after this mission was through.

"Anyone want to fill me in on why Naru is all… fifty shades of orange?" Rinoa asked quietly while folding her hands behind her back and taking exaggeratedly graceful steps around the room. Naruto wore a scandalized look on his face as he spluttered in response.

Seifer regarded the young woman with only a glance, but returned his eyes to Naruto quickly after, which Rinoa noticed but didn't acknowledge. Leon saw this brief exchange, but decided it was a topic for another time as he spoke up to answer her query, "Naruto Uzumaki has been charged with grievous keeping of vital secrets from his friends and teammates. In an effort to get some answers, Seifer Almasy chose to initiate some of Garden's Disciplinary tactics to get some answers out of him. Zell may have… accidentally… let slip that our little teammate here has an aversion to closed toed footwear."

Naruto piped in indignantly, "This is cruel and unusual punishment, damn you!"

Seifer leaned in close to his face making Naruto lean back comically at an angle that would break most necks, "Uzumaki… this is nothing compared to what we can do to… persuade you to share some of your secrets. Two words… Ramen… bann-…"

"You can't! The Kitchen Staff would never allow such a thing!" Naruto growled a little.

Seifer wore a smirk that foretold of many days without the delicious noodles that went down smooth for any meal, "The Garden Faculty control them… and they have been looking for any reason to ban those unhealthy salt strings…"

Naruto was baffled. He couldn't tell if his fellow blonde was bluffing, which for Naruto was damn near impressive and he would have been grinning and commending him… if the situation weren't so dire. With no hope of resistance and obviously no rescue from his adorable little sister or his damned back-stabbing friends, Naruto sighed with a defeated look on his face. Most of his friends in the room found this amusing, except for one ex instructor watching the whole thing with a pensive look on her face. Quistis could see the hopelessness on Naruto's face and while she wasn't sure what was going on in his head, she was certain that something was off if he wasn't showing his normal confidence.

Without a word the red clad angel stood up and walked across the room to kneel in front of Naruto. Seeing him tied up like this made it difficult for her to resist giggling, but she knew she needed to be serious for the moment. Steeling herself, she put on a warm smile and reached up to make Naruto look at her. Light blue met deep cerulean and she almost blushed at their beauty, but again she held true to keep her cool and speak to the young man.

"Naruto… are you okay?"

Naruto couldn't take his eyes off Quistis, their gazes both rather intense considering how calm they both seemed. He then sighed and closed his eyes, breaking the trance enough to speak, but he couldn't gather the will to lie or joke around and deflect, "Honestly… I don't know.

"You know, you talked to me once about trust. While you were in my class, and even outside of the classroom while interacting with others, being honest and earning mutual trust were very important to you. The problem I noticed is that your supposed mutual trust… is actually cleverly kept one-sided. In a way you tend to push people away when they get too close, close enough to want to know more about you. Now, I can't even begin to think of what you are so reluctant to share with your friends, but… I think you need to trust them and let them in." Quistis spoke softly, never accusing or aggressively suggesting anything.

Naruto seemed to struggle internally, "Senpai… I-I…I don't want to lose anyone."

All hints of amusement in the room shattered when they heard his quiet, almost pleading voice speak those few words. Quistis was taken back by his look, those eyes so desperate when normally they were so full of mirth and confidence. Seifer and Leon both let their faces sink into their ever present scowls, but there was no malice to be seen, only a sense of confusion. Selphie let her head tilt to the side as her eyes expressed worry for her knuckleheaded buddy. Zell had swiveled around during Quistis' little pep talk and was frozen in mid-chew with a cookie hanging comically between his lips on the precipice of falling to the floor.

Rinoa was the only one to take action as she fell to her knees gently by his side. She placed a hand on his shoulder lightly as she spoke, her voice full of worry, "Naru, what do you mean?"

Naruto took a deep breath and spoke in a quiet and defeated tone, "I have people who I fit in with, people who care about me, and I don't want to lose them. Everyone I have ever tried to get close to has either died or couldn't handle the truth about what I am… or was now I guess… but it seems no matter what, I am always different, and it chases people away."

Quistis regained her wits and spoke firmly, "Naruto… whatever you may have to say about who you are… what you have done… where you are from… and what you can do… none of that will matter. Remember that promise? You'll always have me."

Hearing Quistis speak spurred Rinoa to smile brightly and nod with enthusiasm, "Yes, Naru, and you will always have me too! Remember, you swore to protect me? I can't abandon my big brother, now can I?"

Naruto was about to speak when his neck was loosely gripped in a muscular arm and his hair was ground into his head by a gloved fist, "Oi, don't you forget about me bro! Come Ifrit's fires or high Leviathan's waters, you're stuck with me for life!" Zell grinned goofily while letting go of Naruto.

Selphie stood up and walked over to Naruto before crossing her arms with her eyes shut and a small smirk on her face, "And of course you have me too… if only to try and fix that sailor's tongue of yours."

Naruto was left speechless as he listened to each of his friend's proclamations. He wasn't completely surprised; he wasn't a complete idiot. The problem was that he always spent so much time denying anyone would be able to handle his history, both back in… where he was born, as well as during his short time in Gaia. To hear the conviction in their voices… he felt like he could trust them… trust someone for the first time in a long time. It was a terrifying concept for him considering all the betrayal and rejections of his past. Naruto then looked up at Leon and Seifer, the two he wanted to trust him more than anyone. In Leon he knew there was someone deep down under all that jerk that would become a true friend, and in Seifer he saw the potential for another brother, someone he could trust to stand by him against odds that would horrify lesser men.

As their eyes met, Naruto saw a shift in Seifer's face, and soon the tough façade he put on to throw others off slipped away to be replaced by a smile, though the eyes were closed to avoid seeing the possible baffled looks of his peers. When Seifer spoke, his voice was strong and… amused. True to his predictions, everyone in the room regarded him with shock and surprise.

"Naruto… you damn idiot… you think you can scare someone like me off? Listen up, short stuff, I asked you once what you fought for. Instead of answering me like the common cadets with dreams of grandeur and hopes of fame and fortune, you had me answer first. I'll admit… I had a dream, an elgant and extravagant one too, you better believe it. But then you listened to my vague, childish answer and… you didn't criticize me… you made me think. You asked me again… and I didn't have an answer then. I do now. Now… if you want me to trust you with my new dream, then you better trust me not to walk away."

As Seifer let his normal scowl take over again his eyes opened, but his smile never left completely. He gave a small nod to Naruto, and the ex-shinobi could only return it with a firm nod. And then, all eyes turned toward Leon. The stoic brunette had his eyes closed and his arms crossed in his usual thinking pose. Through all the heartfelt bonding he had remained silent and still. If the others hadn't already been so familiar with his mannerisms they might think he was asleep. Quite the contrary, he was very aware of the room and the eyes drilling holes in his head. The whole thing was both annoying and mildly amusing to him.

To be frank, Leon was a little intimidated by the idea of trust and the whole institution of keeping secrets for such personal reasons. Of course he kept his own secrets, but under the guise of assumed irrelevance. If information was deemed unimportant to the task at hand, it was very convenient to not speak on it. No one had to know that he absolutely loved the smell of wildflowers… no one had to know that he loved the look of a girl in biker shorts… no one had to know that he spent hours at night before bed polishing his sword because the smell of the polish was oddly soothing… no one had to know that he loved to draw. But, Naruto knew that he loved to draw… because Naruto was the first person to push back against his aloof mask. Naruto was the first person to show a general interest in him without some kind of personal agenda. He wasn't after Leon for advice, training, a damned date (thank god). Naruto wanted to know about him for the sake of trying to befriend him, because he wanted a friend.

Leon let a sigh of resignation escape his lips before he set his eyes on Naruto, "Naruto… I'm interested in knowing more about you. Not because I want to use your strength and not because I am afraid of what you might do… damn it, I just want to know…"

Naruto lowered his head after scanning the faces around him. He wasn't sure what to do, honestly. He'd told each of them a little something about him here and there, but at best he was met with skepticism or misunderstandings. He really did want to trust the lot of them; at least that was what he kept repeating to himself in his head. The mantra was interrupted by a voice in his head… like he really needed someone else talking while he was thinking so hard already. The voice was familiar, as all of them were these days, and he felt a little better hearing it whisper to him.

" _ **Why are you having such a hard time with this, Naruto?"**_ It was Shiva, of course, and she didn't sound worried. She sounded more confused, _**"Where is that confidence you always carry? Where is that cocky man that drives brother Kurama up a wall by leaping head first into any trouble you come across? Where is that man I saw wandering around between worlds?"**_

' _Fighting against ninjas, monsters, and Guardians is easy. This… do you really think I should trust them with everything? What if they don't trust me after? What if they… just dump me?'_ Naruto thought back, his eyes glazing over a bit as he conversed with the icy queen.

He could swear he heard her rolling her eyes, _**"I think that is up to you, Naruto. I can't tell you what to do, or who to trust. All I can say is that all of this stuggling is a bit pointless. I have seen how you act around these people, how you regard them so highly, how you have embraced them instead of pushing them away like Kurama has told us you did back in your home world. It is obvious to me."**_

' _What is obvious?'_

" _ **Well, you asked me if you should trust them… it is obvious to me that you have already made that decision. It is up to you to simply stop denying it."**_

' _Shiva… what did you see in me that day?'_ Naruto suddenly asked, catching Shiva off guard, _'What draws you to me?'_

It took several moments for Shiva to respond, but when she did a smile was clear in her voice, _**"I'll tell you… after you tell everyone your story."**_

A soft chuckle rose up and startled everyone in the room. Naruto then lifted his head up and laughed, his eyes shut as his legs kicked a little. At first everyone thought he had lost his mind, but eventually the laughing became contagious and everyone laughed with him. After he caught his breath he looked around at everyone wearing a big grin on his face. His voice was jovial and a bit teasing when he finally spoke.

"Damn it, you guys all got so freaking serious! Okay, okay, if you all really want to listen to a bunch of nonsense, then by all means I will tell you all a little story. It's all going to be the truth, with no vague half-truths, no riddles, and no bullshit.

But first…

 **Untie me, you bastards!** "

* * *

 **I'd like to take a second to just say again how awesome you guys have all been showing your support and love for th story. It means a lot to get some support for my writing, more than you might think honestly. Usually I have some pointless little question posted at he end of the chapter to et people to leave reviews and have a bit of fun with the community. As a little bit of fun for the new chapter and the achievement of 300 follows, I want to hear what you guys want to know.**

 **Consider this a FanFiction AMA, and I will answer any questions at the beginning of the next chapter.I cant wait to see what you lot are curious about, whether it is about me or the story!**

 **Continue to notice me senpais!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Well folks, I have returned from the slump known as The Holidays, bum bum bummmmm!**

 **I'm going to skip the apologies and junk, you all know I don't particularly like messing around and goofing off after the last chapter and the blah, blah that I touched on there, so let's just move on with the chapter.**

 **Word of warning, this chapter was very difficult for me to write, and I didn't particularly enjoy any of it. I forced this one out because it was needed to move along with the story and get passed all of the trust issues and mysteries surrounding Naruto. I could have gone the lazy route and written the story around the idea that everyone was either clueless or obscenely impressed with him, but again that is lazy and boring, and over done to be sure. Instead, I worked myself into a hole and the only escape I found was having a deep sit-down with the team, just to clear the air and put all of those pesky doubts to rest. This chapter is slow, poorly written (in my eyes) and boring, but again it had to be done.**

 **The silver lining here is that I can finally move past all the struggles that I have been having trying to work around Naruto's secrets and his friends' suspicions. With this out of the way, I can move along with the story and start developing the relationships further, as well as return to the comedy that I enjoyed writing in the earlier chapters.**

 **As an act of mercy, I will tell you all now, you may skip this chapter. Seriously, ignore it if you want, it is just one of those cliché chapters used to talk about the past and reinforce how crappy Naruto had it. If I could have skipped writing this, I would have, but as a writer I couldn't in good conscious leave a huge chunk of missing information where one moment characters are questioning each other, and the next they are a bunch of trusting idiots. Also… I freaking hate flashbacks… (which by the way, a good portion of this chapter is unfortunately composed of flashbacks, though I had a bit of fun changing up the past to divert from canon…) So the idea of skipping all of this and then referring to it later on in flashbacks anyway really didn't sit well in my gut!**

 **There may come a time when I rewrite this whole thing, or I may just leave it as the chapter that I will eternally regret having written. Sort of like how the actors of the Super Mario Brothers movie felt after the premiere. I will strive to make this story continue with a much higher quality now that this terrible event is over with.**

 **Answers to questions from the reviews and PMs will be posted at the bottom!**

 **Ugh… here we go. Sorry again!**

* * *

 **Flashbacks of Naruto's Past, or, A Guardian in the Making!**

* * *

 _Like most days in Konoha the sun was radiating warmth that filled the hearts of the people with a feeling of peace, even during troubled times. While most children would be outside playing games, going for walks, or training in their off time from the academy, one child that was not like most children was sitting inside with an old man far advanced in age, and both were smiling and sharing a meal of warm red bean soup with fresh vegetable stuffed o-nigiri. This child was one of a kind in many ways… a true unique soul among the masses of ordinary drones buzzing about their daily lives. What else could one expect of Uzumaki Naruto?_

 _Yes, the nine-year-old little blonde bundle was certainly of the sort to stand out in a crowd. Besides his looks, seeing as how nearly no one possessed such noticeable hair, he had a bit of a reputation for causing mischief and trouble. Among the population, most considered him a menace and actively sought to either avoid him or punish his actions. There was only one man among the throng who truly knew the boy for who he was, and that was the old man, Sarutobi Hiruzen. The aged man was the leader of his people, and beloved by all. This sort of title often left people feeling intimidated and awed in his presence, and left him feeling incredibly lonely. Perhaps it was this lack of socialization, or perhaps it was the feeling of responsibility to an old friend, but the old man had taken to keeping Naruto as close as he could._

 _Work got in the way far more than he would like, but he had been able to establish a small bond with the boy. The two trusted one another, which was an incredible feat for the boy. Naruto often pushed others away with his wild behavior and childish antics, but Hiruzen was the only one in the village privy to the secret that the boy held close to his heart. Uzumaki Naruto was no fool, he was no menace, and he was certainly not the monster that the people often whispered about regardless of the laws he had fought to pass all those years ago. No, Naruto was as smart as his father, and as passionate as his mother… the perfect blend of two wonderful people with just enough spice to give Naruto a unique spunk that brightened his day whenever the two of them exchanged banter._

 _Naruto caught Hiruzen's attention with a subtle wave of his small hand. The old Hokage smiled and nodded toward the boy to acknowledge he was listening, "Hey Gramps, there is something I wanted to talk to you about for a while now… do you have any extra time today?"_

 _Hiruzen rubbed his beard slowly before eyeing the Incoming pile of paperwork that was toppling over as they spoke, "Well, Naruto-kun, I suppose I could procrastinate a little today… so long as you don't tell my secretary."_

 _Naruto laughed lightly with a small smile feeling grateful for that moment of relief from the tension he was feeling, "I wanted to let you know something… something important about me, and I am worried that if I tell you, that you might treat me differently."_

" _Naruto, I promise you that nothing you could ever tell me would ever change how I treat you, my boy." Hiruzen was quick to reply, hoping that this was something childish or some kind of prank._

 _Naruto looked into his eyes and spoke softly, "I know why people don't like me. I know why I was always in trouble, why I have to live alone now, why the teachers at the Academy don't seem to want me in class…"_

 _Hiruzen rubbed his beard once more, a habit brought on by old age, and then he sighed, "I know why as well… and I think that you are smart enough to know that I knew. Why would you think that I would treat you differently?"_

" _A good ninja laces deception with deception and traps his traps. That is the first line of the book written by your sensei that we are told to read at the Academy. We are told to remember that nearly nothing is true, and nearly everything is false… which is kind of redundant when you say it out loud…" Naruto chuckled mirthlessly, "Without a need to lie or deceive, I am worried that you will become like all the others and become angry with me. I understand why… even if I don't like it."_

" _Naruto…" Hiruzen frowned as he tried to come to grips with his words. This was a child, and yet he was speaking like a seasoned veteran. He knew the boy had been involved in far less incidents in the village over the past couple years, but it never occurred to him to try and figure out why. The way Naruto sounded it seemed like he had accepted what others were doing… was he truly separating himself from the village?_

" _Naruto, I want you to know that no matter what… you will always have me, my boy. Do you understand?" Hiruzen spoke firmly, but made sure to covey his affection with his determination._

 _Whatever the boy thought about was his own, but after several moments of silence his bright cerulean eyes looked up into the old man's dark eyes and they were ablaze with life as he spoke a single word…_

" _Hai!"_

* * *

 _Ten-year-old Uzumaki Naruto was seated in his classroom during a chilly winter afternoon with his head laid on his desk with his eyes shut. The droning voice of their tactics instructor was ignored in favor of his own thoughts. The untrained eye, as in everyone in the room, would see a lazy failure missing yet another lesson on something that was almost certainly important to a young ninja's career. In reality, the boy was so incredibly bored by the monotonous tones drifting through the air from the bloated Chuunin instructor that he chose instead to work on his chakra control while maintaining a meditative state._

 _Beneath his desk the boy had several small stones stuck to his legs with only his chakra. It wasn't the most efficient method, but it was better than listening to a lecture on tactics that he had already memorized during his lessons with Kurama, and of course the free time he spent reading from the dingy old text books he had pilfered from the trash bins behind the Academy. Feeling eyes on him, he came back from his meditation slowly to avoid losing focus on his exercise. When he was 'awake' he opened a single eye to look around. Thankfully he had the forethought to lay his head down facing toward the majority of the class, so he was able to get a good look around without too much trouble. Of course there were two sets of eyes boring holes into him, and both were annoying._

 _The first set of eyes belonged to a young girl, the Hyuga heiress of their age group. He knew nothing about her, not even her given name, and it made her stalking all the more irritating. It was clear the girl meant no harm, which was why he left her in peace, but that didn't mean he was pleased by her nearly daily surveillance. Call him picky, but he wasn't into being watched by a closet pervert voyeur. Would he allow her to be his friend should she ever get her head out of her ass? Of course he would. Had she ever given him a reason to believe she would ever make that commitment? Absolutely not, no way. Letting his eyes drift about the room he locked onto his second admirerer…_

 _The boy was quite possibly the most popular person in the village, and he hadn't even hit puberty for crying out loud. Or was he a girl? With that hair… anyway, they were another person who spent far too much time spying on him. He knew their name, though he could hardly ever say it without someone screaming about him being unworthy of speaking the most sacred and beloved name of Lord or Lady Duck Butt. Because of his cover, Naruto was forced to maintain a false rivalry with the child, and he absolutely hated it. He hadn't wanted to form such a pointless bond, but it had happened rather suddenly one day while he let a rant go too long._

 _Naruto was able to keep up the appearance of the idiot by always throwing his sparring matches with exaggerated sloppiness, barely passing written work by carefully choosing the appropriate answers, and avoiding classes on a regular basis to miss out on assignments and the like. The only person who seemed to see through it was that one… those dark brooding eyes always watching, always waiting for Naruto to slip up and show his cards. There were days when Naruto was forced to avoid his physical training until well after dark to avoid the prying eyes of the fowl haired child. During spars and in the classroom the child would let loose with taunts trying to bait out the real Naruto, but the Uzumaki was a stubborn and willful spirit with the wits to realize what the prick was up to._

 _Closing his lone eye tight once more he could only think of one thing… his one true hope for the future… God don't put that dark one on his team…_

* * *

 _Twelve year old Uzumaki Naruto was livid! After the crap that he had to go through in order to gain his Genin rank he was to be put on a team to start earning the funding he would need to improve his life… and he got slated with the two worst possible people in the world! He was currently seated on the edge of the rooftop of the Academy building with his entire body tensed and ready to go for a run to blow off some steam. Looking forward, he nearly growled when he saw the two new banes of his already crappy existence. The Legendary Duck that Laid Nary A Groupie was seated only a few meters away brooding into open space like the damn sociopath they were. Seated right by their side was the female with the pink hair that screamed 'hey, if the orange fuck next to me wasn't bad enough, look at me!' As her type were wont to do, she was admiring the Flaming Trumpeter Duck with a mixture of some sick lustful wanting and severe shyness. The whole spectacle made him want to barf, and he probably would if that one dark prick wouldn't stop staring at him!_

 _Very nearly reaching his boiling point, Naruto was relieved to see their newest sensei finally putting away his reading material in favor of admiring his three new charges. The man was a damn well known Jonin, possibly the only one worth knowing during an apocalypse event, but that was neither here nor there. Naruto caught how the man's only visible eye glanced over each of them analytically, only lingering on the blonde. There was a moment where Naruto saw some kind of spark… maybe it was realization or… a kind of acknowledgement. Those thoughts would probably have left him if he were truly an idiot the moment the Jonin spoke._

" _There probably isn't a form of displeasure that can be used to describe how I feel as I look at the three of you. Regardless, you are mine, my adorable little ones…" The man said with a hint of amusement as he observed their reactions._

 _Naruto was quick to play his part as the overzealous angry boy with a lack of discipline and manners. The entire meeting was taxing on Naruto after that. There were introductions after his initial rude comment, and then a speech that was meant to intimidate them into either quitting or following the rules to an unhealthy efficiency. Naruto was flawless in his execution, even as his stomach turned having to continue this self-destructive charade. He had hoped he would be able to reveal his true self with a new team and develop healthy bonds… but he had been dealt a bad hand once again. When the meeting was officially over they were dismissed, but as soon as Naruto was away from the team he was quickly stopped by the unexpected reappearance of his new sensei._

 _The man Hatake Kakashi was an enigma much like Naruto, and the young blonde felt a connection with the older Jonin. To keep his cover he had to behave like an idiot so he knew he would never be able to express any kind of kinship or admiration for the man. Besides that, the man was also clearly chosen to nurture the brooding bottom bandit so there was very likely no way in hell the two of them would ever form a bond beyond comrades. It was those thoughts that helped set Naruto up for the shock of what Kakashi wanted with him._

" _Naruto… you are quite possibly one of the greatest actors of all time. Your mask is flawless… oh don't look surprised. Do you think someone like me wouldn't know a thing or two about masks?" Kakashi allowed a moment to chuckle at his own joke before returning to his casual seriousness, "We all have our roles to fill… but I want you to know that I will always be there to give you advice whenever you come to me. I may possess the Sharingan that will help your teammate, but I also wear my masks and I can help you master yours."_

 _Normally Naruto would have scoffed at such promises assuming them false or empty. No one except for the old man had ever offered to help him with sincerity. The cruel reality was that Naruto would always be alone in his struggles… Then, Naruto looked into that single eye and he saw something again. It wasn't deception, it wasn't malice… it wasn't fear. This look he was giving Naruto was a look of acknowledgment. In that moment he knew that this man, this Hatake Kakashi, had won him over._

" _I understand… sensei."_

* * *

 _The breeze blowing through the trees was warm… peaceful. Naruto was kneeling in the soft grass on top of a hill somewhere in the Land of Waves. His eyes were closed as the creeping feeling of despair crushed down on his shoulders. Before him the ground was recently upturned and formed two mounds, one slightly longer than the other. At the head of the two mounds stood a slab of rock that had been formed with a low ranked earth technique. Naruto had taken the time to inscribe the stone with several markings, none of which gave away the identities of the two people now resting beneath him. Suppressing his tears as a true shinobi ought to do, he let his eyes open to gaze upon the smaller of the two mounds with a look of longing and resentment._

" _I didn't know you for long… but that will never lessen the impact that you had on my life. There have been few like you… and even fewer that I have wanted to be my friend. I just… I don't think I will ever understand why you did what you did… and if I do I will never forgive your damn stupidity… Damn fool…" Naruto whispered as his voice drifted away in the breeze._

 _Behind him a tall man he knew to be his sensei dropped lightly from a branch. For a long minute he said nothing as he gave his fallen enemies a moment of silence. When he spoke his voice was soft and consoling, "Naruto, you will learn that we are all fools like him."_

" _Sensei… he threw his life away because he valued someone else's life more than his own. He died to save a man who taught him to be a tool… a machine." Naruto muttered with distaste._

 _Kakashi walked over to Naruto slowly and put a hand on his shoulder, "My Genin, you have to forgive him for how he was raised. But I have to ask you… when you looked into his eyes, did you truly see someone who acted on pure instinct? Or did you see his passion for his beliefs burning brightly? In life there are many things that we would give our lives for; its human nature to develop connections to places, things, and people and to hold onto those connections with all our might."_

 _Naruto didn't look at him, but he visibly tensed by the clenching of his muscles and his sudden straightening, "What do you fight for, sensei? What would you die for?"_

 _Kakashi chuckled after a moment and that made Naruto look up at the one-eyed smile being sent his way, "That's easy Naruto. I fight for my home, for my friends, to honor my old teammates and my sensei… and I fight for you, my student. And I would die for you too, if it meant that I was giving you a chance to keep fighting and following your own heart."_

 _The two left that hill top after a short while of companionable silence. Naruto spared the grave site one last glance and he could have sworn he saw a few flakes of snow blow by surrounded by a mist, but as soon as he blinked it was gone. A messenger hawk cried out from high above as it flew toward the Land of Water with a small bundle secured to a harness. Naruto hoped the gesture would help the two of them rest in peace…_

* * *

 _Naruto was leaning against a tree in the middle of the dense forests around Konoha, his body half broken and his energy pretty low. He was staring at the prone red head on the ground a few feet away from him, waiting patiently for the boy to wake up. All hell had broken loose what felt like hours before during the Chuunin Exams Final. Naruto had actually declined fighting in the Finals after the brutal hell his team had experienced during the second trial. That didn't stop his two annoying teammates from giving their all, even with their impressive failures in the Forest of Death. Regardless, Naruto knew that his sensei wouldn't be able to handle teaching more than one of his students during the break between trials, so opting out let his sensei dedicate his time to the brat of their team without having to feel the guilt of neglecting the others._

 _Naruto had hoped to spend his free time lending aid to other teams so that he might finally escape having to keep up his ridiculous ruse, but sadly that was not to be. He was almost immediately accosted by an old man, one who he could tell was almost every kind of terrible person imaginable. He would have refused the man's offer of training, but Kurama had urged him to take what he could from the man, and when Naruto found out the man was one of the three students of the Old Man, he couldn't refuse. As was expected by then, he was underestimated and only given minimal instruction. The whole experience would have been an utter waste of time had the old bastard not performed a small miracle during their first day together._

 _During the hellish second trial when his teammates had proven without a shadow of a doubt that they were indeed two of the most useless sons of bass he would ever meet, he was attacked by a man who would give him nightmares forever. The snake, for he only felt comfortable calling him such in case the name was booby trapped, had done something that had made it very difficult to communicate with Kurama. The man had been able to identify the problem and fix it with only minimal pain involved, and Naruto felt relieved, and took the old geezer much more seriously from then on, though his cursed mask forced him to act like an idiot. He soon realized though that even if he were acting the fool… he was in good company._

 _As if in an afterthought the man had Naruto sign a scroll with his own blood, an experience that left a sour taste in the young boy's mouth. For a thirteen year old, he knew that something requiring a blood sacrifice was serious business. He was relieved to hear that it was merely a summoning contract and Kurama heavily supported the signing. Several days after the signing Naruto realized that Kurama had been a little too enthusiastic only because he found the trial Naruto suffered through to be accepted by the Toads absolutely hilarious. It was hours of laughs for the fox, hours of hell for Naruto… as usual._

 _It had been some kind of act of fate that Naruto had earned the favor of the Toads when he did, because when hell broke loose, he was ready to respond. An invasion by an unknown enemy, and a well known traitorous ally had shook the very foundations of Konoha. While many of the ninja on hand fought valiantly to push back the ground troops, Naruto was the only available ninja with the juice to put down the real problem: a damned rampaging demon. The battle was much shorter than he had expected it to be. With the combined efforts of his Summoned Toad and his fox brother offering tactical advice the three of them brought down the menace which is how Naruto ended up in his current situation._

 _It had been a while since the mission in Wave, and he had been able to think hard about what happened back there with his… his almost friend. After bringing down the beast and the young boy he was trapped inside, Naruto had spoken briefly with the redhead about life, about the world, and about what holds true worth. He didn't know if the words would make a difference, but even if they didn't the battle was over. The kid wouldn't be getting back up on his own, and from the sound of movement in the area it was clear the enemy was pulling out. He closed his eyes to rest and let the darkness take him so he might see Kurama again for a while… but his attempt was halted by the cold feeling of steel pressed against his throat. Opening a single eye, he looked up into the eyes of a female, if he recalled correctly she was the sister of the boy he had brought down. The two were as still as statues for several moments before she finally broke the silence._

" _I should kill you, leaf bastard." She growled lowly, pressing the blade hard enough to cut his skin and make him bleed._

 _Naruto let the feeling of pain wash over him without a flinch as he eyed the young woman, "I can't say I blame you, considering you guys decided to make us your enemy."_

" _What, is your life so worthless that you won't even ask for mercy?" She narrowed her eyes._

 _Naruto chuckled, the action causing his skin to rub against the blade, cutting a little more, "We're ninjas, its part of the job, ya know? Besides, I already did what I had to do to protect the village. I die here, I died doing what was right for my people, no matter how much they don't actually deserve it."_

" _Die a hero huh? A hero who killed my little brother?! I'll kill you!" She roared while pushing forward with her kunai, only to find a strong resistance. Her eyes widened when she noticed her hands were covered in tightly packed sand._

 _Her eyes turned toward the figure laid out on the ground as the familiar monotone voice spoke softly, "I'm not dead yet, Temari… don't dishonor our people anymore than I already have by seeking revenge against a man who fought to protect… while all we sought was destruction."_

* * *

 _Naruto was standing on water near a large monument dedicated to a great battle of the past, and standing a ways away from him was the androgynous prodigy who had been hounding him since their days at the Academy. The two had been exchanging blows for a long while, and neither was willing to give up. Naruto reflected on how things had come to this, and somewhere deep inside he realized that despite everything he had been telling himself for years, he had let this… person into his life… they had becomes someone that he wanted to find a kinship with._

 _The brooding idiot had let their lust for power cloud their mind, and it was fueled by a tattoo that the snake had given him back during the Exams. With the help of several scum bags he had left the safety of the village in search of the slippery pedophile, and Naruto had been cornered by some of the other Genin and wrangled into a desperate and foolish rescue mission. Inside he knew this wasn't where he belonged… he shouldn't be here fighting this person… he knew he was too emotionally attached to think clearly. Kurama had supported him through the event, knowing that Naruto's true self was influencing him instead of the mask he had let consume him over the years. Naruto was here because his heart wanted to protect his teammate…_

"… _..Why are you even doing this? Why abandon your home, the place of your ancestors? I thought your family was the most important thing to you!" Naruto called out, his anger causing his eyes to flash between cerulean blue and blood red._

 _They scoffed and put on an air of arrogance, "What do you care? This place and everyone in it is pathetic. I need the power to kill my brother, and I know where I can get it…"_

" _This place has strength! This place can offer any power you need! What of our sensei, what of the team?! Doesn't anything matter to you, you prick?!" Naruto felt himself losing control even as he heard Kurama urging him to take it easy._

 _They let loose a laugh that was clearly devoid of humor or sanity, "This coming from the most pathetic of them all? You are a worthless piece of trash and you don't deserve to be alive, let alone standing here in front of me."_

 _The battle continued on into the late hours of the day, dusk settling over them. Both were tired and nearly broken. Naruto had snagged his teammate by the front of their shirt to shake them harshly, his eyes intense and his words strong, "I hate you so much! I have always hated you, god damn it! Every part of me wants to just end you right here, right now! But, you know what is really fucked up?! I can't do it! I can't kill my teammate because… because I want to keep you safe. This whole stupid rescue mission is because I want to keep you safe away from that snake… And I am willing to do whatever it takes to keep you away from him."_

 _Silence fell over the two of them for several moments before they spoke in a quiet voice, "Whatever… it takes…?"_

 _Naruto looked hopeful hearing the tone of voice they spoke with. He had hope because he knew in his heart that his teammate would see the light. Over the months they had been teamed up things had always been stressful and tense, but Naruto could feel a begrudging bond form between them. This moment, this would solidify that bond. It only took beating the living hell out of each other to get it done, but they would finally move on from the past. Maybe Naruto would finally let loose and cast away his mask…_

" _Die."_

 _Naruto froze as he felt it… it was so sudden that he almost dared to believe it was an illusion. And then he coughed, and saw blood splatter across the cheek of his teammate. The look of pure horror that flashed across their face was a small comfort when compared to the inevitable feeling of death creeping through him. He looked down to see that while he had been focusing on the bastard's face, that tattoo had spread down along their arm enhancing the muscles and sharpening the claws. That strangely tattooed arm was now shoved elbow deep through Naruto's chest. Naruto released his grip on the shirt he had been threatening to rip, and then he fell backwards. The sickening sound of the arm slipping from his chest caused his teammate to back away slowly, regarding the scene with a look of shock._

' _Sorry… Kyu…' Naruto's thoughts faded as he fell into unconsciousness._

* * *

 **Bacl to Reality...**

* * *

"…And then I woke up in the Infirmary back in the Garden with Headmaster Cid sitting by my bed giving me the strangest look. I didn't know where I was, I didn't know who anyone was. All I could think was how much I wanted to curse my old _master_ with every horrible pain and misfortune imaginable. I wanted to blend in and become one of the students, honestly, but right from the moment I put on that Junction Watch it became obvious to everyone there was something off about me. I couldn't keep my story straight from day to day because things kept popping up to make people question.

All my life I have had people judge me based on things that I can't control, and I have made a lot of mistakes along the way trying to cope with it. I've lied, manipulated, stolen, and avoided attachments for as long as I can remember. I told myself that if people were only going to see a menace, then I would embrace the idea and live up to the only expectation anyone bothered to have for me. It was obviously a bad idea… but it was the only idea I had. Kurama tried to guide me, but he was in no better a situation than I was. He had been imprisoned from the moment he met human beings to the day that the old bastard used me for a guinea pig. In the end I… we… we became that which we had sworn we weren't. We were monsters… in our own unique ways.

That is why I was reluctant to share my story. Most people do not like to hear a story that doesn't have a happy ending. And besides that, I am scared that now that you all know what I am… then you will never accept me. It won't take long for me to adjust to being alone again, but I really wanted this to work out."

Naruto finished speaking and took a deep breath feeling pretty good having let all of that off of his chest. He had been speaking for close to two hours, not including the fifteen minutes they had to spend silent while Galbadian Soldiers passed through the area searching for the terrorists. He was still worried about losing his friends and having to fend for himself again, but honestly it felt good to tell his story. There were several things his memory had lost permanently, like names, but as he spoke on so many more things had become clearer. It made him remember Kurama's suggestion to write the whole thing out, and to be honest the story telling session here had won him over.

All around him was silent as the listeners allowed the information to sink in. Their reactions had varied during the story from positive to negative, while emotions were on the proverbial roller coaster. Among the troupe the one to express their emotions the most was Rinoa. As a civilian, well the closest to it, she wasn't trained to master her emotions like the soldiers around her. When the story had grown sad, her tears flowed freely, and when the tale took a turn for the better she was alight with joy. By the end of the story telling she had clung onto Quistis for support as she felt emotionally drained.

Quistis had held her cool right up until the moment she was introduced to the man he called 'the old pervert.' At first, though the title had wrinkled her nose a little, she was glad to hear that someone else had finally taken him under their wing to nurture the fine young man he was destined to be. She was sadly let down when the truth about the man began to surface. She had expressed a small bit of anger when she heard of the early struggles he endured in his homeland, but she was downright furious when he told them about his four years of wandering with that man. And then the climax of the story… to betray your own student… it reminded her of Naruto's passionate speech about teachers and their responsibilities seem all the more significant.

Zell was back by the window staring out into the alley below, his mind buzzing as he tried to put the pieces together. How could someone go through all that as a kid and still come out such a nice guy? Well, maybe he had a few issues, yeah? Naruto was pretty secretive and stand-offish with people, but that wasn't all that bad. Thinking back on Naruto's story about the girl he was in love with back in his… home world or whatever… it started to make sense why he never flirted with too many of the girls who had always hung around to watch them spar or train in the Quad. Then there was the big thing… the demon in his stomach or… where ever it had been… which made sense why the guy seemed to get along so well with the Guardian Forces. So many pieces were coming together, but at the same time so many questions kept popping up. And Zell couldn't shake the visions of those people treating his bro so badly as a little kid. Those thoughts running through his head caused his fist to clench tightly, the leather groaning as it was stressed.

Selphie, for all her false bravado and independent sassy attitude, she was barely holding onto her emotions. Unlike the students of Balamb, Trabia was far less prone toward influencing their students to become mindless drones. That isn't to say that she thought Balamb students were harsh or cold, well maybe Leon was from time to time… but still, most of the students were great! But back in Trabia Garden… the students were more a family, and fun loving, and eager to socialize. She put on a front to keep the Balamb students, and now the SeeD Agents, from thinking she was a weak little girl… but she was still a girl, fully capable of sympathy and empathy. Giving credit where it is due, Selphie had not shed a tear, but she would need some outlet for her pent up emotions later on when she had a private moment to reflect on everything.

Seifer had spent the duration of the story telling standing by the wall with his sword twitching in his hand, his face an impressive mix of fury, frustration, and desperate indifference. The scowl that had left natural lines down his face had deepened further than the scar his rival had given him. You see, if was a sad thing to have a need for vengeance and justice, but no means to execute such things. What separated him from those who truly deserved a taste of his blade was an infinite empty space of inaccessible nothingness. The cruel mirage across the scorching dunes just within sight but always out of reach. A morbid part of him wanted to curse Naruto for giving him the pain he was feeling… for it was the damned ninja sitting in front of him that had given him this new sense of worth… a new sense of what really mattered. What a real pain…

Leon suddenly walked over to Naruto and kneeled down so that the two of them were on eye level. Blue met cerulean for a brief moment before Leon spoke, "All right… look… I want to believe you, I do… but you realize that telling us a Goddess of Death saved you after you were burned alive or whatever the hell that was… even in a world where people can throw around fire and lightning, this whole thing is hard to swallow."

Naruto didn't miss a beat as he stared intently into Leon's eyes, "Put your hand on my shoulder."

"Why?" Leon asked hesitantly.

Naruto smiled and looked around the room, "Anyone that wants some kind of proof, just grab my shoulder, or my arm, or whatever you want I don't care. I already had one visitor today, but she wasn't invited. I want there to be no question that you can trust me, and this is the absolute best way to do it… even if it is a little weird."

Everyone was a little hesitant, except for Seifer. The blond put his blade on his belt again and walked over, his hand on Naruto's shoulder as he grinned. Not to be outdone, Zell followed quickly after with a hand on Naruto's back just above the back of the chair he was still siting in, albeit without the restraints that had held him there before. Rinoa slowly took his left hand in hers and gave it a tight squeeze as she flashed him a reassuring smile, which he returned before glancing at Quistis who had cautiously placed her soft hand on his forearm. The two blondes exchanged a look, and something about the way Naruto was smiling told her that everything would be all right. Naruto was broken from that exchange by the feeling of a hand on top of his head. Looking up, he blinked as he saw Selphie's grinning face.

"This is just an excuse to pet my hair, isn't it?" Naruto asked with a blank stare.

Selphie tried and failed to hide her mischievous smirk, "I don't know what you are talking about, all the other spaces are full."

The two laughed while everyone else around them chuckled. The only one still taking everything very seriously was Leon. While he was a fearless man with no qualms over exploring the unknown, Naruto was notorious for his pranks. Obviously there was little chance that this would be the time for a prank, he couldn't just let go of that possibility. Soon enough the two sets of blue hued eyes met again and there were no words exchanged. Without any prompting Naruto held up his hand toward Leon with a sincere smile on his face rather than the grin he usually wore. Leon couldn't help the defeated sigh that escaped his lips as he took the offered hand in a firm grip.

"Thanks everyone… now, focus your magic toward your hands. If you need to, prepare a scan spell to gather your magic easier." Naruto used his authoritative voice that he often used to issue battlefield instructions when he took the lead.

Quistis and Selphie were the first two to gather the appropriate magic, though Quistis obviously hadn't been there for the lecture on the train after the failed hijacking. Zell was the slowest, but he was also the most determined as he proceeded to separate the intent from the magic as Selphie did. Leon and Seifer had prepared their Scan spells with studied efficiency, and both waited for the next instruction patiently. The only one to struggle was his little Rinnie, her face down cast even as she concentrated. Naruto knew she could do it, even if she were relying on the less efficient military gear her resistance group no doubt "borrowed" from Galbadians. When her Scan spell finally glowed her face brightened, and her smile only grew when she exchanged a victorious grin with her big brother.

"Perfect, and good job Selphie, you too Zell. As you can see, the hue of their focused magic has changed in color and intensity. This is due to their magic losing focus and merely pooling up in one spot waitng for a command. Leon, you know what to do. Seifer, Quistis, Rinnie, you three need to try and take away the focus on your spells without letting the magic essence fade. I know that there are warnings about attempting to hold back spells, but you can trust me." Naruto kept his focus on the three of them as they each gave him questioning looks, but all proceeded along slowly.

Once Naruto was able to feel the essence on each of their hands he carefully let his own seek out theirs to try and connect with them. The easy part was finding their magic, the hard part was trying not to draw on it, instead trying to create a small flow back and forth to establish a connection. The amount of control needed to push and pull equal amounts of magic between him and the six of them all at once was unreal, but he was slow and calm. Soon enough he established a link with Quistis, and he could feel how her practiced magical talent allowed the connection and eagerly sought to maintain the link. Pleased, he moved on and found that Selphie was nearly as easy to connect to, though he could clearly tell that her magic was cautious, albeit willing. Even though he was concentrating, he still took a moment to appreciate how the flow of magic seemed alive… sentient.

Simultaneous connections formed between Naruto and the two swordsmen. Unlike before, their magic behaved completely opposite to that of the ladies. Their magic was aggressive and sought to Draw on his own, even as he was sure that neither of them had issued such a command. It became clear that their magic would continue to Draw on his own, so he compensated by counter Drawing from them. The connection was stable, but the tug of war was a pain in the ass. He would have to see if he could teach the two of them how to control their magic better, because such aggressive and needy energy flow was bound to waste a lot of energy. He remembered how aggressively his chakra had always molded when he was younger…

When it came time to establish a connection with Zell, he was very cautious from the beginning. The brawler had admitted on more than one occasion that he hardly ever practiced magic or theory. That was not to say he was dumb, on the contrary he was skilled in many subjects back at Garden. The reality was that at heart he was a physical man with very little interest in flashy spells when his hands could just as easily see him through any confrontation. Remembering this, Naruto made sure to push his magic into Zell with enough force to avoid accidentally draining him with an unintentional Draw. As was expected, the pool of essence he tapped into was like aiming a fire hose nozzle into a shot glass. Because of this, Naruto was pleasantly surprised to find that the flow back and forth, while dangerously precarious during the initial connection, was damn perfect and stable. Another thing, the ex-ninja could almost feel the reserve pool within Zell growing slowly. He wouldn't become a magical powerhouse by any means, but Zell would certainly find his magical Junctions to be more effective and easier to equip, but that was all theory.

Naruto turned his eyes towards Rinoa and he assumed he would need to guide her along, which would be a hassle but it would give the others time to study their own magic introspectively. To his utter shock, not only had she separated the magic, the purity and potency of her natural raw essence pool was almost as bright as his own. He wondered about that a while and considered her potential, and he wondered why someone with little experience with magic would have such raw power. A theory or two came to mind, and while he would love to investigate, time wasn't exactly something that had oodles of at the moment. He gave her hand a squeeze to show his approval before closing his eyes.

For a few quiet moments no one knew what the heck was going on. Naruto seemed in deep thought, but in reality he was going into a meditative state in order to bring the connections into his Mindscape. He had considered having Kurama help, but he was never one to turn from a chance to train and learn. Besides, Kurama only ever did such things in defense of his little brother, and this was a simply social visit. Soon enough he felt that familiar tug and manipulated all of the magic essence threads into a mental representation of a rope that tied onto his own. When ready, he took the dive, and was elated to feel their presence within his mind.

* * *

Naruto landed gracefully onto the solid ground of the central chamber where the Guardians housed portions of themselves. Much to his pleasure, Shiva was ready to greet him with a tight hug which he returned instantly. Ifrit and Raikiri were both lounging in their respective areas either drinking from an odd black goblet of magma in Ifrit's case, or sorting through a floating catalogue of Triple Triad Cards for Raikiri. He noticed that Diablos was once again absent, which he found both irritating and very curious at the same time. The last resident Guardian was seated beside Raikiri watching the golden Guardian with a look of… admiration? Longing? Naruto wasn't completely sure, but he knew she would rather be no where else by Siren's pleasant expression. Naruto regarded everyone with a polite wave which was returned by those paying him any mind. Raikiri was too far gone with his obsession over his card collection, but Ifrit lifted his… drink… up in a toasting fashion, which Naruto found amusing.

" **Welcome back, Naruto…"** Shiva's voice was soft and by the tone he knew there was something wrong.

Naruto put a comforting hand on her back and rubbed which spread warmth through her pleasantly, "This is so unlike your bubbly personality. You would think I got all messed up again." He chuckled and heard two other sets of laughter, and one very familiar snort coming from behind him, which was obviously Kurama hiding in his tall grass again.

" **I…I was the only one listening to you here… I made sure that the connection was private. I didn't know if… if you wanted the others to hear. I'm so… so sorry."** Shiva was trying to keep her composure as she spoke, but she wasn't just an all powerful Guardian… she was a being with feelings and thoughts, and she was very shaken by the stories that he had told about his life.

Naruto placed his hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her back to look into her icy blue eyes. She was expecting him to look hurt or sad, or perhaps angry if he didn't like her reaction. Instead, he was smiling wide with no hint of any negative emotions whatsoever. "Don't you be sorry about anything, okay? Before I sat there and told that story to everyone I probably would have broken down and been a mess. Now… now I feel liberated. You know, this was the first time I felt confident and comfortable enough to share so much about myself?

The pain is still there, and I doubt it will ever go away fully even if I forget everything about my past. What I am certain of is that with my new friends… with my new family, I will always have people beside me to rely on. No more of this hiding crap, no more self-pity, no more running away… I can finally be me. I want no moping, no tears. What I need from you is your support."

Shiva perked up before nodding, **"All right, Naruto, you have it. You will always have me, that's a promise of a life time."**

Naruto gave her a blank stare, "I swear, I keep hearing people steal my lines lately." His face broke out into a grin slowly as Shiva's giggling response became contagious.

" **Stop being so thoughtful and charismatic and maybe peole won't steal them anymore."** She replied with a very cheeky smirk.

Naruto grumbled about copyrights and women bringing him to an early grave before he looked down the tunnel at the sound of footsteps. Knowing his friends were welcome, he had tried to reshape the sewer until the tunnels were dry and adequately lit. Leon was the first to climb the stairs up into the Mindscape central chamber, followed by Rinoa who was keeping rather close to his side. Seifer and Quistis appeared behind them with wide eyes and shocked faces. Comically, Selphie was the last with Zell being dragged behind her. The poor guy looked incredibly creeped out by the dark and gloomy Mindscape.

Naruto took Shiva's hand and walked over, totally missing the blush that Shiva wore and her sideways glance at Siren, "Hey guys, and welcome to my head!"

"That explains why it seems so empty…" Selphie commented which caused several of their faces to light up with realization.

Naruto had to suppress the look of irritation that fell over his face, "Excuse me, Selphie-chan, what was that?"

" **She was simply making an observation, kit. I must say… certain things are coming together now that I had never thought to put together…"** Kurama said calmly while his red eyes peeked through the grass of his platform.

Naruto fell to his hands and knees dramatically, a dark cloud of gloom hovering over him while Shiva looked on with a nervous smile. Leon walked around the chamber with the others following behind him. The Guardians took notice of the humans and regarded them with friendly nods or waves of their hands, or paws. The brunette leader stopped by the grassy platform and his eyes narrowed wondering where the mysterious Guardian Naruto had could be. He was startled when a low growl sounded from nowhere, and caused him to grab for his weapon, only to find that he couldn't grab it. Looking down he watched his hand phase through the grip like it was made of water. His futile attempts amused the entity and caused soft chuckles to surround Leon.

" **Do not be afraid of me, human. As surprising as this may sound, I do not wish to harm you. I know of you… the child who has been giving my little brother such burning glares. I do not sense hate in you… but what is this emotion? Ah… that would be jealousy. You should let go of such pety feelings, they are ugly."**

"I feel no such thing. What… who are you?" Leon replied while crossing his arms. His face which was normally an unreadable mask of control looked decidedly uncomfortable.

The two red eyes from before opened in the darkness between the blades of tall grass to peer at him with something akin to amusement, **"Naruto has mentioned me before. I am Kurama, the demon that was sealed into him when he was a mere few hours old. I was his prisoner for seven years, and his brother for ten. I have seen every color of emotion that you humans suffer, from happiness to sorrow to jealousy… and you are reeking of it. You should resolve these feelings before they consume you, as they did Naruto's former teammate."**

Leon eyed the pair of red orbs staring into him with trepidation, "Kurama… I can assure you that I am not a jealous person. Such feelings are pointless and detrimental to our mission. And the way Naruto told it, it didn't seem like jealousy was what his old friend suffered."

Kurama growled lowly, **"That bastard with those eyes was no friend to my little brother. A true friend would never commit such an act against their precious people. I admit that it is hard to understand how jealousy played a part in that event, but I can assure you that it was one of the most important factors that lead up to that day. I would watch and listen through the bond I shared with Naruto as he went about his days of training, missions, and socializing. I was able to observe the nature of his team over time, and they both disgusted me to my very core.**

 **The boy, for he was a boy regardless of how difficult it is for Naruto to remember these days, was a being of pure hatred. It was difficult for Naruto to deal with being around him because of his complete disregard for everything the village did to please him. Think of how a boy with hardly any food, hardly any social interaction, a terrible little hole to live in, and the constant worry for his own safety would feel watching someone throw every privilege they had away in favor of being a complete piece of trash. If anything, Naruto should have been consumed with jealousy as he watched all of this, but my fears were completely unwarranted because he simply ignored the boy. He redoubled his efforts to train in private, kept his silly mask up at all times, and worked extra missions to keep food on the table and the lights on. Of course there were speed bumps along the way, in the form of one particularly ignorant girl…**

 **On the other hand, Naruto's apathy toward the boy infuriated him, especially when Naruto began to let his skills show here or there. It started in small instances where Naruto would decimate several enemies at once during a skirmish, and then escalated over time until that damned tournament… The boy became obsessed with gaining the strength to both eliminate his own brother, and outshine his blonde teammate. He felt entitled to the praise, even as he hated the people who worshipped him. When Naruto would refuse to hand over scrolls detailing techniques or tactics he would cause a fuss. When Naruto found time to speak to members of other teams in passing, he would butt in hoping to discover more about Naruto's secrets.**

 **Eventually his jealousy overwhelmed his common sense, and that led to the day I almost lost Naruto, and my life with him. Naruto had grown complacent and let his guard down around his team. He had never expected any of them to try and kill him, least of all the one who he had begrudgingly seen as a rival and a… a friend, even if he will never admit to it. Jealousy may not have been the driving force that brought Naruto to the brink of death, but it was most certainly a catalyst. So tell me, human… what are you jealous of?"**

Leon crossed his arms and closed his eyes as he considered the question, as well as the lecture that he had just unwittingly been audience to. Emotions were a pointless thing to consider during a mission, and even less important while on down time for that matter. Emotions messed with the mind and often times influenced decisions that led to failure. Evidence was even present in the story that Kurama had mentioned. If Naruto had not let his emotions get in the way he would have given the finishing blow to his target and been able to bring him back to base. Instead he let his emotions flare, and then he suffered the ultimate price… almost.

But then… after Leon reconsidered his own thoughts he came to the realization that his emotions had already influenced a few confrontations while on their current mission. He had been utterly unprepared to deal with those emotions because he had always avoided them. Looking at the eyes of Kurama that were regarding him with silent curiosity, he nodded his head before taking a deep breath.

"I think I understand, but not fully. I _am_ feeling… jealous, I suppose." Leon realized that admitting it had been both difficult and liberating.

Kurama sounded pleased by the low rumble he made before speaking, **"Very good, you are not as stubborn as you were before… Admission to one's problems is but the first cobblestone on the path to one's solutions. Tell me boy… what gives you these feelings?"**

Leon turned his head to peer over at Naruto who was standing beside Shiva. The ice goddess looked nervous as she kept by his side, and yet she fidgeted often to move slightly away from him. He found this odd, but he didn't comment on it.

"Naruto was selected to be the Guardian Enforcer by the two Guardians who have been allied with Balamb Garden since its founding. He was essentially a non entity before the SeeD Agents on their way back from intelligence gathering in Dollet found him broken and bleeding on the side of the road. In a single month he became the most talked about Cadet in Balamb Garden, and even went on to earn the highest grade on the SeeD Graduation Exam. I have been training and learning for years… I have given my life to the system and studied the Guardian Forces since I was old enough to Junction. I just… I just feel like he doesn't deserve the title while there are so many others who are better qualified."

" **Others who are better qualified? Who?"** Kurama spoke with a calm tone, **"Do you mean you?"**

Leon clenched his fist tightly while closing his eyes, "It sounds incredibly selfish when I think about it, but yes. I mean… I have been training with Shiva for so long…"

" **So you feel betrayed?"**

"No, that isn't it. I understand the Guardians are far more powerful than I am, and I am sure that they know what they are doing." Leon amended quickly, wanting to be clear on his intent.

Kurama tilted his head which caused his eyes to shift in an eerie way, **"So you wish to posses their strength? To be the one the Guardians trust with their power?"**

Leon slowly sighed as he gathered his thoughts. "Yes… I think that's it. But… it feels wrong to say it like that."

" **Then tell me exactly what troubles you."**

"It seems everyone has a purpose… everyone has a reason to push forward. It almost feels like Naruto has stolen mine from me, without me even knowing it was there. He is from another world… possibly another dimension… he doesn't belong here, and yet it would seem he has found some kind of destiny or calling here. If that is true… did he steal mine?" Leon looked into the eyes of Kurama as he spoke, his voice the usual stoic uninterested drone, but the great fox could see the vulnerable man in the blue eyes looking back at him.

Kurama stood up and walked out of the tall grass to let the human see more of his magnificence and he delighted at the showing of shock and awe plastered on Leon's face, **"Know this human… though the kit may be from another world… your destiny is your own and no one can take it from you. It can shift, it can change, it can be great, it can be small… but the one truth that you can be absolutely sure of is that it is yours. The destiny that Naruto is following was thrust upon him by a vengeful female with a cold and calculating heart. Though it may seem great in your eyes, you must understand the weight that is now perched on his shoulders.**

 **He was sacrificed by one of his own for selfish and lecherous gains and instead of the eternal rest that one who has suffered deserves, he was more or less forced to submit to the will of the Shinigami. He is serving the entity who took the soul of his father and held no mercy for the child left behind with no one to care for it. One would think that such a thing was unavoidable, that she was merely doing her duty… but she is a Goddess who may choose to break the rules whenever she deems it fitting. And now he is working to help balance this world on her request. Do not envy him.**

 **My advice to you is to forge ahead and open your eyes to the possibilities. Destiny is a fickle thing that can change by the day. And should you try one thing and fail, then simply try another, and another, and another until you find the one that fits. Live, love, and have no regrets."**

* * *

Naruto stood watching his friends walk around and speak to the Guardians while he lingered in the center of the chamber. His eyes wandered until he spied Shiva nearby floating a foot above ground with her gentle eyes observing the goings on. He found his lips going cold as he recalled that moment when the two of them shared a kiss. It had been brief… but it was a perfect moment that he would never forget. He vaguely remembered sharing a kiss in the past, albeit not one that he had been very willing to partake in. Forgoing that experience, he could safely say that his first… official… kiss had been a good one. As his musings went on he saw her gaze turn to peer back into his own, and he saw her smile warmly.

As Shiva smiled at the young man beside her she couldn't help the feeling creeping into her chest thinking about the small intimate moment the two of them had shared. In her heart she had wanted it beyond a shadow of a doubt, and she had no regets… until Siren had stepped in. Siren had always been a bit of a mother hen among their family. While she was kind and sweet to most everyone she met, she had a harsh side that only the Guardians had ever seen. Diablos always joked that the two of them were opposites, though none of them had ever seen a kind or sweet side hidden beneath all the harshness he often showed on his sleeves.

As a second generation Guardian, Siren had been around for a very long time and seen many things. Unlike those who governed elements around the world, Siren had more time to observe the world as she governed over Life magic. Besides the tragedy that had befallen poor Ifrit, there had been many times over the millennia that Guardians had fallen for their summoners only to feel the pain of loss over and over again. Mortals were feeble things with delicate bodies and short lives, and as such were particularly risky ventures. Shiva was among the only two to never fall in love with a human, and Siren was incredibly protective of her. The winged Life Guardian had her heart in the right place, but it left Shiva with a troubled soul.

" **Naruto, I um… we need to talk."** Shiva spoke softly, her feet becoming very interesting as she floated toward him.

Naruto was immediately on guard. Remembering one of the few lessons the old pervert had given him that had actually been worthwhile… he knew trouble from a woman when he heard it. There were a few phrases that were trouble and he had been cautioned to expect pain upon hearing them. Among them were, 'I asked you a question!' 'I told you to…' 'Who do you think is prettier?' and 'We need to talk.' Needless to say, he wasn't looking forward to what she had to say.

"Sure thing Shiva, looks to me like their doubts have all been seen to."

Shiva floated over to him and landed on her feet, the floor frosting over lightly with a thin layer of crisp iced snow. Naruto watched the ice queen take a deep breath before steeling herself and gazing into his cerulean blues, **"You asked me what draws me to you. I honestly don't know… you give off a feeling that I can't really explain. It isn't simply that you are a True Summoner, or that you have sorcerer powers… it is something much deeper. When the others look at you they can sense your power, and it has reshaped their bodies and given them strength. Ever since I first laid eyes on you there has been something more… not power, not strength… it is like a calling that I do not understand.**

 **Sister Siren has spoken to me since we shared our… moment together. She has expressed concern for my well being because she knows what this feeling is. She has told me that its love, which is something very new to me and I am… confused on how I should act and how I should feel about it. All of my being is telling me to embrace it as your very presence here in the Mindscape fills me with a warmth that my icy spirit has never allowed before. Even as she warns me of the pain I may endure from it, I cannot fully turn from it… turn from you. To be completely truthful with you… I am scared."**

Naruto stood there for a while absorbing everything that she said and not making a sound. His eyes were turned down toward the floor while his body assumed a thinking pose. Shiva began to worry as the moments ticked by, and for a brief instant she was afraid he might turn away from her upset or angry at her hesitation. Her worries were for naught though as he turned his eyes back up towards her as a warm smile danced across his lips.

"I understand, Shiva-chan, things do seem to have been moving a little faster than they should have I think. We are both pretty new at this it seems. I want you to know that I feel something for you too, and I'm pretty sure what it is, and I'm not afraid of it. I won't push for anything you are uncomfortable with though, no matter how much of an idiot my brother tells you I am." Naruto finished with a grin as he gave her a quick nice guy pose.

Shiva smiled softly as she listened to how caring and considerate Naruto was being toward her feelings, and it only served to make her feel guilty. It was obvious the both of them cared deeply for one another, but Siren's warnings kept echoing through her head. Naruto was oblivious to her inner turmoil as he turned to scan the room and make sure none of his friends were causing any trouble. She was so caught up in her own thoughts she didn't notice how forced his smile truly was, but a certain Fire Demon seated on his throne not too far away saw it all too well, and he sighed.

' _ **Siren… your meddling better not ruin anything for Shiva…'**_ **Ifrit mused with a silent huff.**

The rest of the time spent in the Mindscape was spent with the team surrounding Shiva and Naruto as they listened to the two of them describe their encounter with the Shinigami that brought Naruto to Gaia. Each of them were stunned to put it lightly, but it was clear that none of them would question a Guardian's word, though Naruto had to wonder if that was truly a good thing. His thoughts briefly turned to Diablos as he wondered how a Guardian may abuse such devotion.

* * *

 **Now for those answers!**

 **Ismenian: As to your first question, I would say that I feel where you're coming from in terms of how Naruto is taking a lot more than he is giving. As with most crossovers, the introduction of a character to a new universe often leads to such results. The only way to have avoided such an event would have been to integrate Naruto into the new world entirely, in other words having him born into the world of FF8. And even then, because he is the only odd ball in the cast, he would still likely end up going this route. I would love to hear any suggestions you have in regards to helping balance this out!**

 **Your second point, which was also woven into the first a little, is also something that I have taken into account. In the summary for the story I state that this will not be an overly powerful Naruto. One might say that after having read the first thirteen chapters that Naruto has been a bad ass mother humper with the skills to kills. (I died a little on the inside typing that…) So far, if we review those fights we can break down why he seems like this. So far, we are viewing the world of FF8 from the early moments of the game where enemy levels and difficulties have been very low. The Galbadian soldiers in Dollet and Timber would rank in the D range, possibly low C. Naruto had been training on his extended trip before the incident, as well as his extensive private training with Kurama. These enemies have no chance in realistic terms, and unless I started creating super humans in those uniforms that won't change for a little while. In terms of monsters, I have left those fights hinted at or avoided entirely because the normal encounters in the field would be a bore to read through.**

 **In chapter twelve, I touched on the idea that Naruto is not all-powerful and that he can be vulnerable, possibly more so because of what has always made him so strong. (got some grief about that too, might I add…) Before Naruto's flashy save at the television station I tried to incorporate less one-man-army tactics and more teamwork to emphasize his need for a team, instead of him walking in and slaughtering everything. The only real rapid power boost that I can admit to remembering would be the latest chapter update where Kurama steals elemental magic manipulation abilities from Edea, but I will also point out that Naruto was only capable of such flashy magic because he received a one-time boost in elemental essence. (also of note is that we cannot just assume that Edea got a huge debuff in power…) My final thought on this is that you should consider the fact that the Guardian Forces have been a major power player in all of the intense battles that Naruto has faced so far. In all cases where summoning would only hinder or cause more collateral damage, Naruto has had to lean on his team. We shall see what he is truly capable of, be it godlike power or peasant tricks, when he is forced to face something alone.**

 **As far as the central antagonists, I won't spoil anything about that, but rest assured that I will do my best to give the party something to fight, even without the Sorceress Knight situation. And also, even without some of the angst the characters originally had, there will definitely be new challenges for them to overcome with their past issues resolved.**

 **Third question, honestly I have considered a few ideas in my head for a sequel, and if you want to share your bits of inspiration I would love to hear them!**

* * *

 **A raging Ghost: This name, I love it, just had to get that out of the way. Now! On to your question… I would most certainly want to bring my own supply of drinking water if I were to be on the road hitchhiking. Never know what kind of crazy people are out looking to pick up strangers on the road with tainted water or something to mess ya up. If I were just out in the woods hiking, I would bring that map man. Always be aware of the position of the sun and you can never go wrong… unless you're blind… or have no idea how the sun works… or you are lost on the road to life after avoiding a black cat. If I were traveling through the wilderness to avoid the zombie horde… I would bring a steel bat. Enough said.**

* * *

 **NanohaXFateXAsuna: So glad to hear that you have been enjoying the story, as well as your rekindled love for the game. Yes, I have some OCs here and there, but I hope that you aren't too mad about them, I made them background characters who will have no effect on the events of the story. Consider them the smooth glaze on the cheese Danish. As far as Seifer, I decided to redeem his character so ultimately he will more likely not be an antagonist. This only alludes to there being different things for him to overcome, so you just wait and see! As far as what Kurama stole from Edea, it was the elemental manipulation abilities. Don't worry though, I haven't forgotten about our holy friend.**

* * *

 **Have a Little Feith: I know, it wasn't a question really, but you've been an active reviewer so I thought I would send a little something your way this chapter! Honestly, when I first decided to start posting stories here on FanFiction it was quite literally the most cliché event of history. I read a few dozen stories and then put on my goofy grin to start typing up my own stories. I started by asking a few of the authors here how long their average chapters were, and I almost always got the same sagely advice: It all depends on how long you want to write. If you are happy with the length, that is all that matters. I was like… grss, give me numbers you bass terds, but that doesn't mean I didn't listen! So, I read a few more stories and I really enjoyed the ones with longer chapters.**

 **The next step was finding my own groove, so I started writing Save the Nexus, as terrible as that story was/is. The first two chapters were written on my iPhone, and because of the inconvenience of such a method, the chapters were about five thousand words. That felt like so much! But it was because I was using a phone, the least recommended device for lengthy typing by Garnetio Inc. Some soul searching, a bit of self pity, and a couple boxes of Maruchan brand cup ramen later… and I decided I wouldn't write anything less than ten thousand words unless it was clearly at the transition point where I felt satisfied. Chapter thirteen was so long because I just didn't want to rush through the second half of Timber Take Down, and if I had tried to limit myself it would have taken away from some of the detail. Along with all the emotional and situational crap that was going on in the past week and a half, I just knew it would end up ruining the chapter, so over nineteen thousand words later I let loose a sigh and then cried realizing I would have to go back and edit the entire thing. I swear everyone on the street could hear me cry out about the forty something pages I would have to reread.**

* * *

 **Now that's over I want to say thanks for sticking around, and thanks for encouraging me to write with all the favs and follows. To those who have followed me, be prepared for another story to pop up soon. I need to get some of the other ideas clogging up my brain out of there! I hope the holidays were blessed and joyous to all you readers.**


	15. Chapter 15

**As I expected, writing something else while working on this story helped get the juices flowing again, so we have another chapter of Uzumaki Naruto: Guardian Enforcer for your reading pleasure. This chapter takes a step away from the serious tension that we have seen over the last few chapters to help move the story along, with the help of some comic relief. A couple OC knuckleheads come back for a little fun near the end, so I hope people enjoy the antics. Next chapter, without spoiling everything, will probably have a bit of love fluff, but we will see…**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

"I don't ever remember dad talking about this part of the job…"

The ever sickly Zone, leader of the Forest Owls resistance group fighting for Timber's independence, was having… an off day. After the massive failure during their attempt to abduct the Galbadian President Vinzer Deling, he and his team had dropped off Princess and her mercenary group in Timber to try and salvage their operation. All had gone well until the security scanners on the train had detected explosives on board their base. Acting as quickly as he could he issued the one order he had hoped to never need: abandon the base and rendezvous at the safe house owned by their ally, the elusive and mysterious Forest Duck. That was the last he had seen of his team besides Watts, due to the knucklehead clinging to his side despite the danger of traveling in groups.

It took about an hour to trek through the wilderness outside of town avoiding monsters and soldiers, but eventually the two of them had found their way back into the city and eventually the safe house. Their wheelman found his way back to the relative safety of Timber, though he was going to be useless for a while because he had broken his leg dealing with some of the nastier local wild life. Knowing that he would be fine at the safe house, Zone and Watts decided to do some investigating around town, though they only had one spare soldier's uniform. He hated to admit it, but under stress he was damn useless because of his upset stomach, so he had Watts handle the undercover work while he stuck to the shadows.

Of course, in retrospect, considering his current situation, it might have been better sticking to the safe house instead. It took only fifteen minutes of skulking to realize that he was not a very good sneaker. He had almost been spotted by one of the soldiers that were pulling out of Timber due to some trouble at the television station, so he did the one thing he knew he could do: he threw himself into a garbage bin. Seated in the bin, he had time to contemplate the universe while the ground beneath him rumbled with the passing of heavy armor and infantry troop units. He almost lost his cool when a rat decided to hop on his head, but with a great deal of will power he avoided screaming like the little girl that was almost certainly hidden inside him.

Currently, the movements outside had quieted down enough that he felt brave enough to peek outside. He was glad for the silence, though he was getting a bit restless doing nothing while Princess was getting into God knows what kind of trouble. He imagined Watts was well on his way to getting some kind of absurd promotion from some random Elite Soldier due to his overzealous use of the word 'sir.' As if the man had been mentally linked to his leader, Watts almost magically appeared behind the bin where Zone was hiding and he eyed Zone with a confused expression. Zone, completely unaware of the man standing inches behind him, began climbing out of the bin slowly. Watts noticed that he had clearly been sitting in a bowl of tomatoes and decided to alert the man with a friendly tone.

"Got a bit of red on ya, sir."

Nearly every bird in Timber leapt into the air in startled surprise as what could only be a five year old girl screamed in utter terror somewhere within the city walls.

* * *

Seifer Almasy was not a man to shy away from anything, especially a challenge. He had sparred with almost every cadet in Balamb at least once, and lost his fair share of those matches no matter how much he didn't want to admit to it. He had stood his ground on multiple run-ins with the elusive T-Rexaur that terrorized the Training Center and survived to talk about it. He had seen Fujin naked at least three times and survived the thrashings that she had given him with only a little nerve damage to his family jewels. All in all, he was your typical bad ass mother with no fears and no regrets… well maybe a few regrets. Okay… maybe a ton of regrets… but living with them takes a lot of strength, so he could live with them. The one he couldn't live with was standing right across from him and staring intently at the floor.

After the deep dive into the empty headed ex-shinobi of their little posse, everyone needed some time to relax their bodies and their minds. Naruto had taken to sleeping in the corner using his jacket as a blanket, Selphie and Quistis had taken the beds, Zell had perched himself on the window sill with the curtains draped over him for a blanket, and Leon had leaned against the wall to simply relax. The only two left were Rinoa and Seifer himself, and the two had been exchanging odd looks for a good while. Eventually Rinoa was the first to break the silence and asked him to accompany her into the hall. Reluctantly he had agreed, which led them to their current predicament.

Seifer had his arms crossed as he leaned on the wall opposite the door to their room. Rinoa stood with her left shoulder resting against the door frame as she rubbed her right arm gently to rid her of something, probably the chill of the cool hallway. The blonde knew that he didn't want to be the first to speak, but if someone didn't act soon he would start waving his sword around… which was a habit that he really needed to rid himself of as soon as he had time. Movement across from him caught his attention, and when he looked up their eyes met. For a moment he got lost in her deep brown eyes, but where he once felt utter devotion, he now only felt a slight longing. There was something missing from her eyes as well, but for the life of him he couldn't begin to imagine what it might be. Fighting he knew, women… eh.

"I… um, Seifer… we should talk about it… about what happened." Rinoa started rather slowly, her voice tentative.

Seifer huffed silently to himself, but he knew this was something that needed to happen sooner rather than later, "Well, let's start talking."

His willingness seemed to throw her off as she stared at him intently for a moment before coming to her senses and looking down a little, "Well… are you, you know… are you okay? Things were a little… awkward the last time we… we spoke."

"A little awkward? Which part was awkward, the part where you told me that we were done, or the part where I started yelling and destroyed part of the Quad?" Seifer asked while grimacing at the memory of his immature actions.

Rinoa was silent for a moment as she looked down at her feet, but she looked back up when she spoke again, "A little of both I guess… I did choose a really poor time to talk about it… I'm still sorry for piling on more that day. But… but I just want to make sure that you are all right, you know? Our relationship wasn't that long lived, but it was fun and I don't regret it. You're a good guy under all that tough skin and I want to be friends."

"Poor timing, yeah, but at least Naruto wasn't around that day… he would have made things so much worse by bugging me about what happened. Knowing him he would have blamed me and taken your side… or maybe not… whatever. Regardless, I am fine, so you don't have to worry about me." Seifer decided not to comment on her last few words.

As if to challenge his resolve, fate decided that Rinoa would be a bit persistent that day, much to Seifer's disdain, "I'm glad you're okay… I was afraid that you would never want to speak to me again. I don't have many friends, and I really don't want to lose any of them…"

Seifer scowled a little with his eyes shut, hoping that it would look more like he was constipated rather than flustered. Whether women knew it or not, the whole asking to be friends after a break up crap was probably the worst kind of punishment one could force on a man. For men, relationships are all about possession. With love, men are prone to observe their girlfriends or wives as _theirs_ and losing that feeling is very, very painful. While a woman can fall out of love with a man and still desire their company with positive feelings, it is torture for a man to be within arm's reach of their former love without the ability to hold them the way they once did. Seifer was no different, and the idea of being friends with the girl was not very appealing. The problem was… men are often very, very dumb. Hearing that sweet voice echo with a tone of hope, sadness, fear… it was too much for him to handle knowing he had something to do with it. With a heavy heart he let his conscious be his guide, the bastard little angel standing smugly over his left shoulder…

Gritting his teeth he did his best to form the words, "Don't worry, Miss Heartilly… we're still friends."

Rinoa could hear the hesitation and see the pain he was feeling practically painted on his face… but she couldn't help the feeling of relief that his words brought to her. True, it might be selfish of her to ask this of him considering it was her decision to end their relationship, but she just couldn't let him go. Their relationship had started because he was someone on the inside who could help her get to Cid, but it had eventually become something real that taught her about life in many ways. And then there was her self proclaimed big brother Naruto, who she would never have met if she hadn't been exploring her physical urges with the blonde swordsman that day. Seifer had been the bridge to many things that improved her life and helped her climb closer to her goals, and she would be eternally grateful. Allowing a small smile to grace her lips, she gave him a nod which he begrudgingly returned.

The silence that followed was a little awkward for the both of them, but it didn't last long. Just as Seifer became antsy, a voice called out for Rinoa from the first floor of the house. Thanking whatever Guardian may have brought an end to their discomfort, Rinoa set off down the hall at a jog. Seifer watched her go before letting out a sigh to release the tension in his body. When he walked back into the room to rejoin the others he noticed out of the corner of his eye that Leon was watching him. Stopping his stride as he made it to the center of the room he slowly turned to face his brunette rival with a calculating gaze.

"Any reason you're trying to burn holes through the back of my head, leader-man?" Seifer droned with only a small hint of hostility.

Leon huffed before turning his head to the side, "Just wondering what the two of you were talking about, to be completely honest…"

Seifer sucked on his teeth lightly, "And why, pray tell, would you be so nosy about that? Aren't you the one who hates people?"

Leon scowled a little before sighing, "I don't hate people…"

"Right, sorry, let me be more specific. You're the one who thinks that life should be centered around the mission and nothing else matters. You are he-who-struggles-alone." Seifer gestured with his hands to emphasize the teasing tone of his voice.

Leon's eye twitched rather violently, "You're spending too much time around Naruto, you know that? I was only asking because both of you looked troubled. If you don't want to answer, that's fine. Don't be an ass hole about it."

Seifer crossed his arms and tapped his right boot on the floor while drumming a small indiscernible tune with his fingers on his left elbow. If he was being truthful with himself, which was likely not going to happen while in a bad mood, he was being a total dick to Squall, er, Leon, or… whatever, the brown haired git. The question was an honest one, but the subject matter was a little too freshly damaged for him to feel comfortable discussing it with an outside party. Taking a deep breath to calm the frustration that he felt toward himself and the whole situation, he looked up at Leon to find the man giving him a pointed look.

"I'm… not…. I… Okay… I'm sorry for… lashing out at you." Seifer had to really grind that one out, but that didn't make it any less honest, "I don't really want to talk about it, but just know that she and I know each other from a while back. We had a falling out of sorts."

For a moment he didn't think that Leon was going to accept his response, but to his surprise the man gave him a nod while wearing a placated look, "I got it, I won't bring it up again. Just be sure that whatever this is doesn't get in the way of the team. Drama is something that we have had enough of on this little adventure…"

Seifer followed Leon's gaze to the sleeping blonde in the corner who was snoring away softly and he had to suppress a laugh. Damn guy was near impossible to hear coming up behind you, and yet here he was snoring like an old man for the world to shake and shiver because of it. The peaceful look on his face made him think about everything that he had told their group, and Seifer felt an uneasy sensation hit his stomach. Though he was the last person to voice anything about feelings and the like, he had to really try hard not to question him about how he dealt with all the pain over the years. The swordsman couldn't remember much from his early childhood, only the book that he had kept by his bed side for all those years. Regardless, he knew that he had lived a rather peaceful life compared to Naruto, and it didn't seem fair. Ah, the injustices of life never fail to deliver.

"Has he been causing a lot of drama while out in the field? He doesn't seem the type, even if he can be a total idiot." Seifer couldn't hold back the smirk on his face as he recalled all of Naruto's antics back in Garden.

Leon sighed mentally as he considered how to respond, "Not exactly… in truth he has been a great asset, though he did get badly wounded by a pretty pesky bit of Death magic. The drama has been caused by… by me."

Seifer snorted before replying, "That's a pretty poor excuse for a joke, even if it did make me chuckle a little. There's no way that someone like you could cause any kind of drama. Zell would have been a better choice to try and fool me, and he has rocks for brains."

"Just what the hell do you mean by someone like me?" Leon retorted with an almost insulted scowl.

Seifer grinned at him, "You're a machine. You calculate every move you make, make adjustments on the fly without blinking an eye, you've faced off against me in spars without flinching from my most powerful strikes, and you've been able to refuse the advances of one of our more attractive Instructors since the day she started working on making you into the Golden Boy of Balamb. You don't have time for frivolous things like drama."

Somehow, Leon couldn't feel good about all of the positive traits that Seifer had listed off. Whether it was the tone that Seifer was using or the amused look that he wore as he counted them down on his fingers, Leon couldn't tell for sure. And then he just had to bring up Quistis, who was mercifully in a deep sleep over on the bed furthest from the two of them. Steeling himself, he replied with a casual tone,

"Sorry to disappoint you, but it's true. On more than one occasion I was a bit forceful with Naruto. I didn't know whether or not I could trust him because he kept so many things hidden. At one point he freaking stuck himself to the side of a speeding train without holding onto anything. So… I might have… thrown him into the wall a little harder than I meant to while demanding him to reveal his secrets."

Seifer grew deadly quiet as his hair shadowed his eyes, his face turned down a little. His fingers twitched as he tried to resist his urge to wave his damned sword around. Seriously, was that really his go-to action for any situation? Now would have been acceptable though, considering how angry he was thinking that this little punk had been roughing up Naruto just for keeping things to himself. Screw security, screw the mission, screw whatever bull shit Leon thought was so damn important… you don't attack your allies… your friends.

He was about to respond when the two of them started as another voice caught their attention, "It was no biggie, he throws like a girl."

Naruto was stretching when the two swordsmen turned to face him. When he noticed the audience he grinned and gave them both a wink, "Just saying, I knew a woman who could throw a guy clean through five or six yards worth of solid stone. She flicked my forehead once and sent me about a block down the road. Only real problem princess here caused was a mess of newspaper clippings falling on the floor and messing up the Owls' conspiracy theory board."

Leon looked indignant while Seifer let loose a full laugh which woke the room. A round of complaints about noisy people was stalled as Rinoa peeked her head in the door smiling brilliantly at Naruto.

"Did someone call my name?" She asked cheekily.

Naruto returned her smile as he walked over to her passed the two men who'd been discussing him. When close he bowed rather flamboyantly much to her amusement, "Why of course my sweet Rinnie-hime, one cannot utter more than a few words without having to refer to your greatness."

"Looks like mister charming is back…" Selphie whispered to Quistis with a smirk. Quistis could only shake her head, though if one looked close enough they might notice a small blush on her cheeks.

Rinoa gave his head a soft bop before he could stand again and he feigned being in great pain, "Okay big talker, that's enough, we need to be serious for a minute."

Naruto put on his big boy face as he nodded. The entire room grew tense as the team listened in for whatever information Rinoa had received. Zell walked over just as Rinoa began speaking and used the chair they had been interrogating Naruto in to sit backwards and rest his chin on his arms that folded on the back rest. Quistis and Selphie both organized their equipment while listening, just in case they would need to move immediately.

"I just got word from Watts that he and Zone met up about a half hour ago and came up with an escape plan to get us out of Timber. After our base was destroyed they want everyone to scatter, so Zone went to get us tickets for the next civilian train headed out of town. I think Watts said it would be a northbound train, so we might be headed in the direction you guys need to be close to Galbadia Garden. We need to move out now if we want to meet up with Zone so we don't miss this train, it might be the last one before the city is quarantined completely now that the president has been properly evacuated."

Leon turned to the group and nodded his head, "Okay team, we are moving out. Clean up your gear, fix up the room properly, and be downstairs in two. Naruto, take off those ridiculous boots."

After Naruto let loose a low curse the team scattered around the room cleaning up the mess they made and checking their gear. Leon left the room with Rinoa to wait downstairs with the kind woman who had let them hide out in her home. Leon expressed his thanks and offered up some kind of compensation from Garden for her aid, but she would hear nothing about it. Rinoa assured her that they would not rest until Timber found justice, and the kindly woman gave her a very foxy smirk before assuring her that she had no doubts that they would succeed. When the team had assembled in the small downstairs kitchenette everyone expressed their gratitude in various ways before bidding the woman farewell.

* * *

Zone stood rather uncomfortably by the station where the next northbound train was due to arrive within the next ten minutes. In his hand was a small cluster of tickets for everyone, though he had no idea that he would be a couple short due to the recent additions to their little team. He started pacing back and forth while his eyes scanned the area in the most conspicuous fashion imaginable. He was so invested in keeping his eyes out for wander soldiers that he was completely unaware of the team walking casually up behind him.

"Gotta get it together Zone… everyone is counting on you, yeah? Constant vigilance…" He muttered to himself in an all too loud whisper that everyone caught.

Rinoa walked up behind him cutely before gently tapping his shoulder, "We're here."

It took the combined strength of Naruto and Zell to muffle the girlish scream that Zone let loose into their hands. Seifer stood twitching to the side while Leon simply crossed his arms and hid his face in his palm. When it was clear he was done screaming the boys let him go so he could catch his breath while dry heaving over a nearby garbage bin.

"You really gotta take it easy buddy, field work isn't for everyone." Naruto chuckled while rubbing Zone on the back in small circles.

Rinoa sighed as she walked up, "Did you get the tickets Watts said you went off to buy?"

Zone responded by holding out the bundle of tickets which she snagged with a cute little 'yoink' before counting them out in her hands. As she finished counting her eyes went wide and she looked around at everyone, "Erm… we might have a little problem."

"What… what problem… princess…?" Zone asked as he finally caught enough of his breath to speak.

"We have six tickets, but there are eight of us now…" Rinoa looked around at Seifer and Quistis who suddenly looked very uncomfortable.

Zone stood up fully and took the tickets from Rinoa so that he could hand them out slowly, one to each person. Rinoa, Leon, Naruto, Selphie and Zell each got one of the tickets along with one last for himself. He looked between the ticket and the two new members of their team a few times before sighing. He knew that he wanted to flee Timber, but at the same time this was just the push he needed to make the right choice and stay anyway. Sure, there was trouble now that their base had been destroyed, but these were still his people, and what kind of example would he be setting for everyone else if he ran with his tail between his legs? With a determined nod he gave his ticket over to Quistis without a single regret. Looking at Seifer he realized that they still needed one more ticket, but the train was already visible down the tracks so there was nothing he could do.

Naruto looked at his ticket and then at the train before walking over to Seifer and handing the paper slip over to the swordsman, "Here, take mine."

"I can't take this, Uzumaki, you're on a mission here." Seifer said with a very bemused look on his face.

Naruto shuffled his feet before looking around at everyone and then sighing, "Look, I am about to do something that I am not proud of… I need this to never leave the group."

"…Not sure I like the sound of this…" Leon mumbled while eyeing his teammate warily.

Naruto rolled his eyes and then looked around to make sure no one was looking. Seeing the coast was clear he put his hands together in the final sign for a very familiar low-rank technique. He mumbled softly under his breath a word that none of the others were familiar with before his body burst into smoke. Zell nearly fell over from the shock, but everyone else was just watching with curious glints in their eyes. When the cloud of dust blew away in a gentle breeze the entire party gasped, not expecting what they found in the place of their blonde friend.

Sitting on the ground was a small plush doll of an animal that only one of the team recognized. Whatever it was, it had to be a canine, but there were many feline characteristics as well. The fur was colored a very dark orange, almost red, with some small bits of black near the eyes and ears. The ears were another anomaly, stretching a bit too far to seem like they matched the body, but oddly enough they fit this particular little creature well. Nine very soft tails settled behind it, each curling at the tip for just a little extra cuteness. The face was set in what could only be described as an angry glower, but on the tiny plush face it was utterly irresistible. Silence settled over the group as everyone eyed the toy with various looks on their faces.

The first hint that something was wrong was the tension that settled over the area. The first one to notice was Seifer as his battle instincts kicked in screaming that he should be ready for some kind of attack. Scanning the area he noticed something about he girls in their group… their eyes were… starry? He noticed Leon looking around as well and the two of them exchanged a look that might as well have been a full conversation based on how much information they exchanged. Leon clearly recognized some kind of danger just as he had, and there was an agreement between the two that no matter what they would be ready. The two of them looked over at Zone only to see that he was already stationed out of the way hunched over a waste bin outside of the danger zone. It was Zell they were worried about, considering his dense head had yet to register the threat. Before either of them could think of how to warn him, all the world crashed into motion.

"Oh my Guardian, it's so cute!"

"Look at those fluffy tails!"

"It's face is just so… so… oh I just want to kiss it!"

Seifer and Leon had moved enough to be out of range of the assault, but Zell was caught in the ensuing chaos. Three female bodies leapt into action to try and seize the little toy for their own. Rinoa, her body built for speed, was the first to capture the little plush toy and smother it tightly to her chest. Just as it looked, the toy was most certainly the warmest, softest thing she had ever held before. Between her smothering fits a chain whip wrapped around the toy snugly and easily wrenched it from her grasp, making her pout melodramatically. Quistis, now holding the little toy, was blushing lightly as her inner little girl was dominating her senses and causing her to go gaga over a simple stuffed animal. Once again the poor toy was smothered into a bosom, which oddly enough seemed to make the already reddish fur of its face darken a bit.

Not to be left out of this tussle, Selphie cast a triple layered Float spell on the doll that easily yanked it free of the blonde harlot who was monopolizing it. Using Zell as a launching pad, her boot smashed down into his gut to help give her the lift to grab the doll before the Float spell could take it away into the air. As was the theme of the day, a very eager young woman began smothering the doll into her bosom… face deep in the valley of the shadow of death. Rinoa and Quistis nearly growled as their prize was _molested_ by this little punk, and so they leapt into the fray. The raucous rumble was accompanied by a comical dust cloud as grunts, growls, the occasional fist, and even hissing cat sounds escaped the bubble of pain. Zell wasn't able to escape in time before he was dragged into the horrors of a cat fight.

None of them noticed when the toy leapt free of the hustle, only Leon and Seifer were privy to this. They watched the little beast walk right up to them and then sit down with a huff, the face looking to the side even as its cheeks were ablaze with a still present blush. When it spoke, they were both unsurprised and slightly amused to hear a familiar voice.

"This is why I didn't want to do this… I should have gone with Plan B."

Seifer smirked, "I don't know… things worked out a bit for everyone. At least a girl finally decided to touch Zell."

Leon's lips were twitching trying to suppress the amusement he was feeling, "We will have to… have a word… about your inappropriate behavior concerning your female teammates…"

Naruto-plush-kun looked up at Leon with a twitch to his little angry eyes as the brunette tried and failed to keep his laughter in check, "Oh ha-ha-freaking-ha, you bastards."

With the train getting closer to the station Leon picked up Naruto-plush-kun off the ground and then let loose a loud whistle to get the women's attention. Everything froze even as the three of them were all biting different parts of Zell who was looking worse for wear. Leon was torn between laughing his lungs out and sighing heavily at what Garden considered professionals. Pointing to the plush in his hand he gave them all a stern glare that made each of them shrink back a bit. Zell was let free to tumble to the ground in a heap of tangled limbs. Seifer groaned and walked over to remove Zell from their midst and drag him over to the edge of the station to get the wuss straightened out.

"This is not going to continue. As of right now, this item is classed as a Key Item and will remain with only one person for the duration of our possession. For the sake of professionalism in the eyes of our peers, I will be delegating custody of this item to Rinoa as she is an outside party and does not represent Garden. There will be no arguments on the matter, and anyone attempting to seize this from her will be recommended for a salary cut and a grade reduction on our return to Garden. We clear, ladies?"

One excited squeal was all the warning that Leon had before a black and blue bullet sailed toward him only to snatch away her prize. A matching set of disappointed affirmatives later and the team was boarding the train that would take them to East Academy Station. The ride would take about an hour and a half, so Leon gave the team permission to explore the train and relax in the cabin if they so desired, but everyone would be responsible for their own time. If anyone missed the stop he would not risk anyone else being left behind staging a search and retrival mission. Much like the train that had taken them to Timber in the first place, the initial area on the train was simply a ticket station granting access to the deeper areas of the passenger car. Wanting to be sure his team was ready on time, Leon kept to the ticked station where he could keep an eye on the overhead display that let passengers know how close they were to each stop.

Zell, Selphie, Rinoa, and by proxy of her molestations Naruto, left to explore the deeper sections of the train, relishing a chance to relax a while. Seifer was forced to stay by the side of Quistis who was keeping the young man on a very tight leash. Leon could just hear them speaking over the rumble of the train as the locomotive chugged on along the tracks through the countryside.

"Seifer Almasy, now that things have calmed down, I need an explanation for your actions right now. Just to list a few of your offenses, you left your quarters while under house arrest, you nearly assaulted a Garden Faculty member on your way out, you deliberately entered a near-war-like zone without authorization from Garden, and you came damned close to interfering with a sanctioned SeeD operation." Quistis was using a voice that neither Seifer nor Leon had heard before, even during her time in the classroom.

Withering under her glowering and harsh tone he visibly had to shake himself to regain his usual scowling composure, "My reasons are my own. I don't know you well enough to share something so personal, _Instructor_."

Quistis tilted her head to get a kink out of her neck that resounded with a very intimidating crack that sent shivers down his spine before she spoke, "As I have informed you, _cadet_ , I have been reinstated to active field duty as of the day… only a handful of your peers graduated into SeeD. My authority allows me to ask any questions I like, demand the answers I want to hear, and unleash swift and precise punishment on the field should I deem it necessary to do so. If I were you, I would cooperate before this has to be handled in Galbadia Garden, because at Galbadia Garden there are no wrist slaps or time-outs. They train their students for active duty in the Galbadian Army.

So your options now, _young man_ , are to either tell me what the hell you were thinking so I can give a bit of a watered down report to Cid via a long distance call, keep it to yourself and let the investigation and interrogation trainees at Galbadia Garden practice their techniques on you, or run away and give up everything that you have been working for all these years to live the civilian life on the run. I would recommend having it out with me personally, considering I can be an excellent listener, but the choice is ultimately yours."

As Leon listened to Quistis speak he couldn't help feeling… impressed. Here she was, the same blonde who had been giving him those looks in class over the last year and a half, giving Seifer the business like a damned professional bad cop. It was like seeing her in a completely different light, and to be frank he found the whole thing rather attractive. He was in no way thinking about becoming some sort of… fan boy or anything like that, but damn he could appreciate how good she looked when taking her duty seriously. It reminded him of his own attitude toward such actions and how he imagined tearing into an unruly cadet for misbehaving in the field. He caught himself examining her physique, his eyes roaming down her body to take in the full package, but he had to bang his head back against the metal of the wall to get his head straight. Now was not he time to let pesky hormones get the best of him.

Seifer heard the small bang of skull impacting metal, but he was in no position to speak out about it as he stared down the menace that was Quistis Trepe, "Look, I know you probably want to hear some kind of technical, professional sounding excuse for why I left Garden to chase after Darky's team. My response that it was personal is a genuine confession. I was the one who helped Rinoa Heartilly get in contact with Cid so that they could set up a mission to help her rebel group. I figured if I put in a good word with the big guy then he would gladly send a couple of our best. Imagine my surprise when I hear he's sending a group of fresh SeeD graduates instead, and one of them is… is one of my good friends. Not only was I worried for the woman who had trusted me to help secure her some professionals for her plans, I also had the guilt of them sending a bunch of new agents into the hell that is Timber. You know the reports about the tension there… the whole place was a powder keg!

So I broke out because it was my responsibility, okay? I don't care what kind of punishment I get when we get back, I am just glad that I got to Timber when I did. Damned Rinoa dragged Darky and the three numbskulls into the pits of hell, and Vinzer Deling is a heartless killer, plain and simple. Was it stupid? Yes, I will admit that I was being incredibly stupid. Did I have a plan? Unfortunately no, I had no idea what I was doing and I could have certainly messed everything up and got Garden in serious trouble. But I don't actually give a flying fuck about Garden or the staff or the ridiculous rules you people care so much about. I care about my friends, and two of them were in deep shit when I got to Timber. I like to think I had a hand in helping them get out alive and uncompromised."

Seifer ended his little speech by slamming his closed fist against the wall to accomplish nothing but bruising his hand. Quistis was neither impressed nor intimidated by his rather immature action, but his words had moved her to rethink how she would handle the situation when she got in touch with Cid. She decided to say nothing in response, just giving Seifer a stiff nod before leaning on the wall by one of the small windows. Leon's eyes were staring holes into the floor as he thought hard about how passionate Seifer had been. Somehow he knew this had something to do with Naruto, because the man had never once thought about anyone other than himself not too long ago. And here he was talking about Rinoa again, and there was a hint of something more than being simple business acquaintances. He would have to try and figure it out in a much more subtle way than demanding answers, knowing full well the consequences of prying into others secrets too bluntly.

* * *

While the big kids were off talking shop, the little ones were having a bit of fun all their own. In the cabin where the typical lounging furniture was ready to accommodate, Naruto was seated at the far end of the couch nursing an exaggerated lump on his head. Opposite him looking flustered with cheeks resembling tomatoes was Rinoa who occasionally shot a glare his direction. She had just been seated in the cabin to relax with the stuffed animal that had replaced her big brother when the unexpected happened. In a puff of smoke similar to back at the train station the adorable plush doll was replaced with Naruto, but there was a bit of a problem. Right before it happened she had just buried the little thing right between her bosoms with a gleeful squeal of delight. When the smoke cleared, a familiar mop of blonde hair was right in her face… and the whiskered cheeks she often saw accompanying them were hidden somewhere between thing one and thing two.

"I said I was sorry Rinnie-chan… please forgive me?" Naruto unleashed the forbidden fox-kit-eyes of death.

Sadly, this sort of thing doesn't affect women with the 'pervert hater' status effect. "You let me put your face… well, you know! Ugh, you should have warned me!"

"If I had said anything then you all might have acted suspiciously! I had to make sure that everything looked natural!" Naruto defended himself vehemently while placing two band-aids on his lump in a cross.

Rinoa harrumphed rather loudly as she crossed her arms over her modest chest so he pushed on forward, "Come on… please? I'll do anything you want!"

If she had the ears of an animal he would swear they would have twitched given her body language upon hearing his offer, "…Anything?"

"….anything that doesn't involve children, ghosts, wooden puppets, or… tomatoes." Naruto shuddered at the mere mention of each item.

Rinoa spun around so quickly that Naruto leapt back with his hands going up in weird angles to attempt to cower, "Can you teach me how to do that?"

Recovering a moment after hearing her request he put his hand to his chin, "Err… I don't know… teaching really isn't my best area… but maybe."

"I swear I will be the best student if you try and teach me that! It would be so amazing to change how I look. Does it only work with stuff like toys?" Rinoa scooted over to the seat next to him.

Naruto looked at her then as he thought for a moment, "Well no, you can change anything really. The easy stuff is changing parts of your body, like your hair style and color, or your eyes, and then inanimate objects are the hardest to change into, simply because humans are naturally always moving. I was always really good at it because of how dense my chakra was, and my magic is the same. The first step is having you gather raw magic essence into your stomach, which is where your core is. I wish I was a damned Hyuga…"

"A what?" Rinoa tilted her head slightly.

Naruto chuckled at her cute pose before patting her on the head which got her waving her hands to try and beat him away, "A Hyuga, they had eyes that could see inside the body to monitor your chakra, or magic. They could see how it flowed, what element it was, and they could even use their magic to block your magic, kind of like a really strong Silence attack. I was idly wishing I had a set of those eyes so I could help you figure out how to manipulate the magic in your body."

"So what you are saying is that magic doesn't have to be focused into the hand or a weapon?" Rinoa turned in her seat to sit with her legs crossed while facing him, causing him to do the same so they could talk more comfortably.

"Absolutely, Rinnie-chan, you can move raw magic to any part of your body. I channel my raw magic to my hands and feet to stick to surfaces and walk on top of water, though I haven't been near any water to try that exercise in a long while. In order to perform the Henge technique, you would need to focus your raw magic into your stomach, and then let it burst out over your body, like waves of water washing over you. The first few times can disorient you because changing your own appearance can throw off your balance. And if you are really like me, which I think you are close, you may even end up with a solid transformation, which can really mess with your head if you try something too different too fast."

Naruto put his hands into the standard ram seal in order to focus his magic easily, and then he lifted up his shirt just enough so that she could see the pale glow of his raw magic, much like their hands had glowed during their trip into his mind. Rinoa found the sight very interesting, though she did blush just a tiny bit looking at the firm tone of his abdomen. Moving on with the demonstration he held his hands in the seal once more to easily keep the gathered magic stabilized so he could speak further.

"As you saw, I have the raw magic built up around my navel, which is where the core of your magic should be if my theories are correct. Your magic should be ready and willing to obey your command because it is yours, so don't force it. Instead, just give it a little suggestion with your mind, hint at where your magic should go, and then let it go there on its own. Children where I come from begin these basic exercises when they are very little to help encourage healthy growth of their chakra systems. Because of Kurama I was an utter failure at these kinds of things, but with his help he got me training to a reasonable level with more advanced exercises that were better suited to my reserves. If it helps, try to gather the magic in your hand like we did before, and then close your eyes and guide the magic to your navel."

Rinoa thought about his instructions and then nodded slowly, already closing her eyes to help concentrate on her own magic. Having little training in magic made it difficult to truly imagine what the essence was supposed to feel like, but that wouldn't stop her. Taking her temporary teacher's advice, she gathered the non-elemental essence together to form the Scan spell. The spell flickered faintly a few times before finally stabilizing, which brought a grin to her face that Naruto found very contagious, though he held his tongue while she continued to work towards her goal. Upon command, she could feel the incredible warmth of the magic falling apart, leaving the warm raw essence focused in her palm. Just like before during their Mindscape dive, she couldn't believe how… familiar the raw essence felt to her, even though that had been her first time feeling it, and this her second. Experimenting, she sent a few subtle commands to her magic suggesting it migrate to her other hand, and it shocked her how quickly it moved. Opening her eyes she looked down to see the glow fade from her primary hand to the other.

' _She has magic similar to mine… she has potential that most do not… I'll have to consult with Raikiri the next time he has a moment away from Siren.'_

Rinoa was so happy with her results that she nearly lost her focus as her magic began to fade. Panicking, she quickly shut her eyes and broke out into a light sweat out of exertion trying to regain the focus. She started when Naruto spoke softly, "Rinnie-chan, you are trying to force it. Your magic is not something to fight, it is something that only wants to help you. Soft hands, light suggestions, okay?"

"Sorry big brother…" Rinoa replied feeling a little foolish. She released the tension in her body as she focused less on struggling to make her magic obey and more on giving her magic direction. The response was immediate as she felt the warm glow return, but she wasn't in the mood to let it slip again by celebrating too early. Her directions from then became gentle, but firm. Her mental suggestions were less forceful, but far more effective as her magic followed the hints that she gave, and soon enough she could feel the warmth settle in her stomach. The warmth began to churn like a roaring fire, but instead of scorching burns all she could feel was a sense of wholeness that had been missing without her even being aware.

Naruto could feel the power radiating from her stomach. True it was way too much for a simple henge, but that was what the basic techniques were supposed to help with. By training in very simple techniques the students were encouraging their chakra to respond to their orders, and help them learn restraint so that they could act efficiently on the battle field. When he had been that young he had Kurama filling his system up with so much residual chakra he might as well have been plugged into a large wall socket to power the Elemental Nations. Rinoa seemed to have the reserves of a low Chuunin, but the control of a graduating academy student. It would be interesting to see if her magic were capable of letting her tree climb or water walk, but that was neither here nor there.

"Well done, Rinnie-chan! You're a natural, and a really great student. Now comes the final step, which involves intent. You have spent Kami knows how long directing your magic using devices that force it to obey a strict set of rules. You must let go of this mindset and embrace the idea that you must work together with your magic rather than above it. You must will your magic to change how you look, suggest that your magic should make your hair longer, or change the color of your lips, or your eye shape, or whatever your imagination can think of!"

Rinoa could hear the pride in his voice and the confidence he had in her through his words and she almost wanted to cry. Truth be told, she didn't have many who had much faith in her ability to do anything properly. Her father was always coddling her, The Owls often insisted that she stay out of the field, and that SeeD Leon's words were still ringing through her head. This would be the first time that someone she cared about actually filled her with a sense of determination and confidence. Her goal set, she let the image she wanted to create fill her mind's eye. As she pushed for her magic to notice the image, she could feel it latch on and find purpose. Keeping her magic focused in her core she waited for her last instruction.

"With that image in your mind, you need to focus your energy into the center of your core as closely as possible, and then let it explode out of your system. Do not force it, but let it ride though your pathways to your skin, your hair, your everything… and let the magic fulfill your command."

Rinoa was uncertain about the idea of letting her magic do anything remotely close to… exploding. What would happen if she turned herself into a Bomb unintentionally? She could hurt someone, she could hurt Naruto. But then she felt Naruto move closer to her and take her hands in his own. No words were spoken, no fear or anger present… it was so surreal that such a small gesture could help sooth her so quickly, but it did. Between his encouraging words, and his warming presence, she was ready. It took time, considering this was a first for her… for anyone in Gaia, really, but soon enough she felt her magic reacting to her command. In a flush her entire body seemed to heat up with the release of her magic, and for just a fleeting moment she figured she was going to really blow up in a fire. And then she opened her eyes to see the proud, amused smile on Naruto's face.

"Wow, you really shoot for the stars, huh? Gotta say, I love that shade of red on you." Naruto was clearly impressed by her first attempt at the Henge judging by his eyes flitting up and down her form. His analytical gaze caused her to blush again, of only slightly.

Rinoa had decided to try multiple changes, instead of the one like Naruto had suggested for her first time. Without practice in observing people she had no full body transformation to try, so she made up several things in her mind. She had changed her hair into a deep crimson that reminded Naruto of his mother, though Rinoa had decided to keep her hair short. Her skin had taken on a bit of a tan that was a stark contrast from her usual paler complexion. Her clean nails were now polished black, though a few of them looked normal to signify her inexperience. The final change she had attempted was an eye color change that had failed, but not completely. Like with her nails she had only partially succeeded to change her eyes. One of them was her warm chocolate brown that had several men drowning whenever she gave them her cute, coy glances. The other eye had changed to a pale blue closely resembling the eyes of Shiva, but without the sense of power behind it.

The young woman pulled out a mirror to look at her reflection and she gasped slightly at the foreign sight, though her surprise died out in favor of excitement, "Oh wow! I actually did it?"

Naruto gave a hearty chuckle before grinning at her, "You sure did! I am really impressed with how quickly you were able to make anything change. It seems your limitation right now is focusing on more than one aspect of any transformation. As you can see your hair changed perfectly because you only have one head of hair to deal with, and you kept it simple by changing only one aspect of it. With your nails and your eyes, because you were focused more on the single change you wanted, you forgot that multiple items needed to be affected. Practicing with this, and working your brain, you will master this in no time."

"Working my brain? What do you mean?" Rinoa tilted her head, making Naruto want to snuggle her with how cute her mismatched eyes made her look, reminding him of a cat.

"Having a sharp mind will only make you stronger on the battlefield as well as in the shadows. With a quick wit, you can think your way out of problems easier, and your brain will be better equipped to notice things that would have normally gone unseen. With a sharp, open mind you will be able to memorize people and all of the little details that would help create a perfect transformation. If you become strong enough that you can even memorize people's voices, you may even be able to perform solid transformations that can alter your vocal cords, imitating people flawlessly. A perfect deceptive Henge is all about appearance, mannerisms, and sound. Get those three down, and you can replace anyone, even a king." Naruto finished with his little lecture and nearly chuckled at how awed her eyes looked while she gazed up at her 'big brother.'

' _It's so hard to decide if Naruto is a complete idiot, or secretly one of the coolest people ever… or maybe he is both.'_

* * *

The sun was high in the sky over the grassy plain near East Academy Station as two lonely, blue clad soldiers were leaning on the side of a personnel carrier that they had been given to drive their way back to Deling City. Their stay in Timber had ended rather… badly, if you cared enough to ask. Jo and Dan, the two unluckiest soldiers in the Galbadian army, had been following orders and tailing a bunch of suspicious looking brats through the city when out of no where this blonde haired demon boy caught them red handed. The ensuing punishment for snooping where they were clearly unwelcome was to be stripped naked and covered in very warm tar. When they say very warm, they mean that it didn't burn their skin, but it was uncomfortable as all hell.

The mysterious kid then covered them from head to toe in chocobo feathers from two down pillows that he produced from Guardians know where. The whole thing was utterly humiliating, but in retrospect they preferred their fate to the platoon that was demolished near the television station. Relief that their lives were spared was unfortunately short lived when the two of them were demoted –again- and ordered back to the capitol to perform light guard duty. Dan was more than happy to return home where things were safe and no one would be stupid enough to cause any trouble. Jo was a little less than enthusiastic, especially when he knew how upset his missus would be knowing their military stipend would be lowered… again…

As if to emphasize the story of their lives ever since that botched assignment on the Presidential Train Security Squad, the armored carrier they had been given had unfortunately broken down while en route to the forest trail connecting Timber to the rest of Galbadia. A few hours spent under the heavy hood of the vehicle had produced absolutely no results, and at that point Jo wasn't in the mood for anymore trouble. Instead of wandering into a dangerous, monster infested hell hole without any armor to protect them, he had made the executive decision to sit and wait for another group to travel through so they could hitch a ride. Let the brass deal with the missing assets, he just wanted to go home, break the news to his wife, and pass out in the nice warm dog house they had out back for their little Fluffernutter.

With Dan around, there would sadly be no end to his frustrations, "Hey Jo, you don't suppose we will run into those kids again, do you?"

"I swear to the Guardians Dan, I really want you to know how much I despise you." Jo replied with a monotone that left no room for argument.

Ever the oblivious moron, Dan persisted, "They obviously had something to do with all the trouble back in Timber. Makes me worry, you know?"

"You burn your coffee in the morning and you worry. Just last month you swore that someone was going to assassinate the Secretary of the Treasury because you found a rusty coin in your back yard. At this point you have no right to try and convince me that those kids had a hand in trying to kidnap the President." Jo had his pinky scratching in his ear to try and dislodge the waxy buildup that his warm helmet had helped to loosen up.

Dan looked at Jo with an indignant glare, even though it was barely visible due to his visor, "Hey that coin was a bad omen, you don't just find random rusty coins in your garden while planting Mimett Greens!"

"Idiot, people find random coins and other trash in their gardens all the time! Your sister found a pocket watch in our garden while preparing it for the new grass seeds we bought in Winhill." Jo started back a little heated, but mellowed out as he remember who he was talking to. Getting into anything with Dan was asking for trouble.

Dan huffed and crossed his arms before turning to look out over the plains at the distant silhouettes of monsters sauntering here or there without a care in the world, "You're impossible to talk to, Jo."

"And what is the name of this personal hell where you find it necessary to try…?" Jo asked while palming his face behind his visor.

"This attitude of yours is exactly why my sister keeps telling me that you are an-…" Dan began while turning back to Jo only to trail off slowly.

Jo waited for the snarky reply that was due to come any moment, but when he heard nothing he looked up to see his companion dazed and looking pale, "What, Dan? The missus thinks I am what? An ass? An idiot? An amazing lover? What, what?!"

Dan's weird silence was getting unnerving, but when he heard a voice from behind him he froze entirely much like Dan had, "I was wondering if I would ever see you guys again."

Jo turned slowly to look up at the same blonde teenager who had snuck up on them back in Timber, and he noticed that he was holding a make-up box and two ladies two-piece bathing suits in the same blue as their uniforms. His face was covered in that damned shirt… mask… thing again, but Jo could just make out the shape of a sinister smirk creasing the dark material.

A half mile away with the rest of the Garden team, Rinoa was holding onto Leon's arm even as he held a very uncomfortable facial expression. She was looking off toward where the soldier transport was just barely visible, and an ungodly wailing was drifting toward them on a breeze. She looked up at Leon with a slightly worried expression as she spoke.

"What do you think he is doing to those guys?"

Everyone jumped a little when they heard someone screaming about their money maker and then Leon regained his composure enough to reply, "I don't think we want to know… sometimes we have to do terrible things to our enemy in the field to keep our teammates and clients safe. What is important is that when he catches up with us we don't judge him. Our job is not a pretty one, but someone has to do it."

Another shrill cry of what could only be called a man losing all of his masculinity could be heard echoing louder than anything else they'd heard, and all three of the men in their party lowered their heads in a showing of empathy to their fallen brothers.

* * *

 **And we are done people, another chapter for you all for being faithful and patient with me and my recent lack of activity. Now that we are sitting here together, I want to give all of my followers here the chance to go check out my newest work, Naruto: Nature's Prince. It is my take on a neglect fic, and so far the reviews are pretty positive. It is different… maybe not completely unique, but certainly something not many Neglect fics tend to do. Give it a read and a follow if you like, it will be updated along with Guardian Enforcer as time goes. Pay attention to the warnings at the beginning of the chapter though, so if you see anything that turns you off you wont waste your time reading!**

 **As always, you senpais will always have my undying affection! Keep reading, review, sharing with your precious people, and being awesome.**

 **~G Solozari~**


	16. Chapter 16

**Well, this took long enough for me to update, huh? Lots going on in my life right now and I don't think most of the readers are actually that interested in me, so I will skip all the blarg and end this with a simple my bad. I will confess though that this has been sitting completed, edited and all, for a few days while I have procrastinated with uploading it. Yes, I am a bastard.**

 **To make up for it, I hope that many of you enjoy the first bit of romantic fluff in a series of small fluff scenes that are sure to make the young cringe, and the old laugh.**

 **Warning: There is a scene break that takes place in another dream sequence similar to the strange dream before the Timber Arc. Due to heavy use of Original Characters, you are warned to skip this portion of the story if you prefer to steer away from such things. As before, these characters have little to no effect on the canon story line of Final Fantasy and are primarily there to replace the tedious dream sequences of Final Fantasy Eight. All important information involved in the canon dreams will be referred to in later chapters, and the replacements are only in place to entertain the fans of FF8 who enjoy seeing unspoken references to the FF8 universe given the old Uzumaki Naruto twist. You are in no way obligated to read this section, and I will obviously be unhappy if you decide to read it anyway, warning notwithstanding, and flame the review section about crappy Original Characters that are muddying up the story. As before, there will be line breaks, as well as the entire body of the story will be in italics, so do be wary as you go my precious senpais.**

 **Onward and upward!**

* * *

"I'm a normal mother trucker, deal with my puny and inferior text style!"

" **I are a large and imposing mother trucker who has no time for puny text styles!"**

' _ **This would be the thoughts of a big mother trucker, and I like to lean. Deal with it.'**_

* * *

There isn't anything that can quite compare to the natural beauty of the night sky in the country side. Living in the city or a large town can dull the view, but as soon as you leave those dazzling man-made lights behind you get a front row seat to the boundless heavens and their breathtaking presentation. Of course man's desire to master all things has led to an understanding of the night sky, and creativity has inspired astronomers to find meaning in the twinkling specks of light so very far away. Whether it be the understanding of their existence in the depths of space as burning speres of immense energy, or simply small pieces to great constellations in the sky, nothing can take away the fact that beneath all of the surface struggles for meaning and depth, the night sky is simply… beautiful.

Such a simple thought ran through the minds of two separate beings both seated in a patch of soft grass, though only one of them was actually admiring the darkened sky above. She sat taking in every detail of the heavens above with bright, icy blue eyes. Her view was framed by a thick canopy of leaves and branches that seemed to part just for her, as if looking upon a portrait. The dull light of the night sky seemed to bath over her soft skin and enrich her complexion. With her hair hanging loose down her back it swayed gently in the cool night air, which she reveled in instead of shivering like many others would. For Shiva, the Icy Guardian had never been bothered by the cold, so a little chill like that was hardly even noticed.

Seated beside her, Naruto found his attention torn between the two most beautiful things in the universe. One being the view of the sky with the thousands of stars reminded him of his favorite hiding spot back in the village, which ironically was situated on top of his father's head. It was odd, but he could definitely see the difference between the two skies, and while Konoha's night sky would always be his biased favorite, Gaia certainly didn't disappoint. And then there was the beauty beside him with her sparkling eyes gazing up and filled with childish wonder. She had chosen to wear something that was a bit more modest than her normal attire. Her feet were bare, as usual, and her slender ankles faded away into a pair of skinny jeans that did very little to hide her athletic legs from his view. Her top was a simple white blouse that fastened in front with pearl buttons. Despite how often she utilized her feminine form in battle, Naruto found her more conservative clothes even more attractive. Idly he wondered if being around kunoichi back in Konoha wearing such revealing and teasing attire had dulled his appreciation for such things, but he chalked it up to more likely his utter refusal to find anything that old pervert would have approved of pleasant.

The shinobi didn't want to be caught eyeing her like some kind of creep, so in an effort to keep his mind off her beauty he chose to speak, "Ahem… so…"

Shiva smiled as she heard how awkward Naruto sounded, "Relax, okay? We've been around each other before, especially during that month before your SeeD exam, remember?"

"Yeah, I know, but… that was different, you know?" Naruto pleaded, hoping she would understand his vague assessment.

With a knowing glint in her eyes, Shiva chose to play dumb in order to help Naruto get over his current uncharacteristic shyness, "Oh? How was it different? A man and a woman spending time together, getting to know one another…"

Naruto pulled his legs close to sit cross-legged, "Well, back then it was training… we were getting to know our strengths and weaknesses so we could compliment each other. Like, I learned that your physical strength was your weakness, but your spiritual strength was enormous, so we worked out a way to combine my Taijutsu with your insane magic power, like when we tore Ifrit a new one."

Shiva couldn't help the giggle that escaped her lips when she remembered how Ifrit went on and on within Naruto's Mindscape about their finishing move. While the fire demon was a sore loser on the best days, he appreciated strength and battle on a level that only one of their brethren could match. He would never admit it under any circumstances, but it was clear to her and Raikiri that he had been very jealous of their battle synchronization, as indicated by the fiery proclamation that he would demand to train along side Naruto as soon as they were able. Naruto wasn't privy to this information yet due to the constant flow of events following his exam. Snapping back to reality, Shiva pressed forward now that she got the blonde to start talking.

"So what is so different now? Just because we aren't throwing around weapons and magic…"

"Well now we aren't preparing for anything… well, maybe we are… but it isn't as straightforward anymore, ya know? With training it is simple: get strong and use it to survive. Ever since I was little it's been that way really, right from the day Kurama and I officially met. Training to hide, training to fight, and training to deceive… all of it was in a set pattern to ensure that he and I lived to a ripe old age. This… this is different." He admitted while pulling at some grass with his hands, his eyes staring at the blades poking through his fingers.

"Different how?" Shiva insisted gently, not wanting to sound like a pushy, nosy pest.

Naruto cringed while averting his gaze away from her so she wouldn't see his conflict. At first, days ago, he might have been all too eager to engage with her and talk like a hyper idiot, but… that was before the two of them had come to the understanding that she wasn't comfortable with how quickly they had been moving things along. In all honesty, he couldn't fault her for bringing it up, and her blunt honest about her discomfort was very appreciated. That didn't change the fact that he had already let his guard down around her and allowed her closer than he would have liked. Like the stupid hormonal teenager that he ultimately was, he had let himself become vulnerable, and that small part of him that desperately wanted some kind of childish romance had won out over his common sense.

The fact that she had been engaged in their kiss also brought about some confusion to his already weak male mind. Having no real experience with girls, outside his masked attempts to date the pink haired harlot back home, he had been ill prepared for the whirlwind of emotions that his first kiss would bring. After their last little talk, his inexperienced mind assumed that she had regretted letting him get that close, a feeling which he mirrored easily with his newfound doubts and self degrading thoughts. All that he knew for sure was that he didn't want to push her away by acting rashly, also known as, he didn't want to act like a stupid teenager again and ruin his chances at something worthwhile.

Steeling himself, he carefully spoke his thoughts aloud for the waiting Guardian, "This is our first date… even if it isn't what you would call typical…"

Shiva's eyes widened when he spoke the words. This was a date… _their first date_ … she had been summoned after he asked her to stargaze with him. It had been an innocent invitation, a friendly gesture… perhaps a chance to just chat and get to know one another. She didn't realize that he had been asking her on a date. The very idea of it brought forth a warm tingle in her icy chest, and despite her age she felt like a gleeful school girl. Her attention was brought back down to the earth when he went on further.

"…When it comes to training, like I already said, there is a pretty easy and set goal. Right now, there is no way to know what the goal is. People date all the time, or so I've heard, and it leads to so many different opportunities. I have to remember that my goals aren't the only ones important, and if they don't match yours then that changes how everything works. Sometimes it turns out great and both people walk away happy, content… and then there are those instances where things go south. One of both people get hurt, things get worse, and soon enough two friends become bitter enemies.

You set me up against the world and I will train myself into the ground until the world falls. Fighting is so easy for me, because I have been hurt so much that nothing scares me anymore. I've been stabbed, burned, cut, buried alive, forced to see my own death, broken in half… and I have come back stronger each time. When it comes to matters of the heart, I only have one real memory and it wasn't exactly favorable. Of course I walked away from it, but unlike all of the physical pain I have endured, nothing will ever be able to heal the pain that caused me. Maybe I am putting too much into this… I don't know."

Shiva could only nod in understanding, "You aren't Naruto, trust me. When it comes to the heart, one can never be too careful. Those are the words that sister Siren has been drilling into our heads for years. No matter how mature we become, no matter how wise, the heart is always young and easily swayed by the sweet promise of romance. There are many stories my fellow Guardians hold close to remember their mistakes, but that had yet to stop any of them from tempting fate time and time again. It is natural to fear the unknown, and there is nothing more unpredictable than love.

Naruto, from this point on, I want you to forget everything that has or hasn't happened between us. Forget everything we talked about during our month of training, forget all of the madness with your recent injuries, and forget about the kiss we shared. Before you start…" Shiva held up her hand when she noticed Naruto look at her with a slightly uncomfortable expression, "…I want the two of us to start fresh. We know each other as Guardian and Summoner, now we will get to know each other as woman and man, and together we will see where things go. All you have to do is decide if you trust me…"

Naruto looked into her eyes and without even needing to think on it he nodded, "Shiva… I trust you. The moment we met, in that horrible white mess, you saw something in me and you saved my life. I owe my life to you, and to be honest, I wouldn't have it any other way."

Shiva took a moment to appreciate the passionate look in Naruto's eyes as they nearly glowed. And then she smiled before poking him in the shoulder, "You realize how damn charming it is when you say things like that? It's almost annoying… almost."

Naruto seemed completely thrown as he held his hand over his chest, "My Guardians… did you just curse?"

Realizing that she had let that simple four letter word slip her face turned a dazzling violet as red flush mixed with light blue and then she put on a slightly dark look, "No one is to know of this…"

Naruto waved his hands frantically in front of him as he wore an uncomfortable grin, "What? I don't even know what you're talking about, Shiva-hime~"

Seeing how effectively she could intimidate the young ninja she let a satisfied, victorious smirk play across her lips, though her blush was still faintly present, "That's what I like to hear… Now that that's out of the way, loosen up and talk to me, Naruto-kun."

Hearing the affectionate honorific on his name brought a genuine smile to his face, "All right, how about we play a little game of twenty questions? I remember reading once that it's a great way to break the ice."

Shiva froze for a second as the double entendre slowly sank in, and then her blush returned in full force, "O-ok… but, be gentle…"

Naruto let that sink in for a moment before he too blushed a nice, rosy red color, "Erm… yeah… hah… funny. Anyway… how about you go first, I am terrible at thinking of questions."

On unspoken agreement the two of them sat in silence to regain their composure. When Shiva had finally steadied her mind enough to think straight she looked into his eyes for inspiration. Seeing her reflection in his cerulean blues gave her an idea, "I got it. Tell me about your ideal woman."

Naruto stuck a thinking pose as he considered her request, "Well, let me see… I would say that I like a woman who isn't afraid to speak her mind; I guess you could call it a strong woman. I don't mean a woman who will nag me without respite, demand things of me, and ultimately own me like some kind of dog. I mean a woman who doesn't hold back when we fight, is all too willing to put me in my place if my ego gets out of hand, will tell me when I am being an idiot… but still be my rock when I am falling apart. Intelligence, grace, sophistication, playfulness… those are all great, but she wouldn't need to be everything. She could be a slob with a prankster's heart, all brains and no brawn, a brainless ballerina… and all I would need is for her to be there.

Looks aren't really an issue for me. Growing up surrounded by women who dressed like sluts in order to beguile shinobi and enemy mercenaries sort of ruined the whole… alluring sexy woman shtick. Don't get me wrong, I am fully capable of appreciating the work that my woman would put into looking good, I'd be gay otherwise. For me, that sort of thing wouldn't be necessary, I'd be much more enraptured by a woman wearing a plain dress, her arms and neck teasing me with promises of how smooth and perfect her skin would feel beneath my hands. Her form wouldn't have to be absurdly shaped with disproportionate assets, I would be happy with a more subtle shape. I know I may sound like some kind of… stupid, attention starved, starry eyed boy, but I am honestly done with being surrounded by women who are obsessed with altering their bodies and turning their assets into weapons."

Shiva gave him an approving smile as pride swelled up in her chest. It had become obvious early on that Naruto was uncomfortable with her usual attire while fighting, and since then she had slipped into the habit of covering up. While this change had been unpopular among the younger students at Balamb, what mattered was the appreciative looks that the young blonde had given her on the first day she committed to her decision. Naruto was the only fan she needed, and she would do anything to keep him close, even if she did feel the need for clothes was such a simple, human problem.

"I think that you gave a wonderful answer, Naruto. It's not often a man is so open to imperfection. Even some of my brothers have their particular tastes in shape and size…" Shiva grimaced as she recalled conversations with two particularly rambunctious Guardians who had very particular tastes in human women.

Naruto beamed and accepted the praise before settling down his elation so he could take his turn, "Guess it's my turn then… Who is your favorite summoner? And you aren't allowed to say me, no matter how flattering that is. There are way too many students at Balamb who Junction you for you to not have a favorite."

Shiva grumbled something about picky blondes before thinking a moment, "Before you came along… my favorite was… well, Squall."

"Leon? Wait, your favorite summoner was darky?" Naruto had a hard time understanding how that could work. Sure, he liked Leon well enough, but the guy was suffering a serious case of "stick up the ass-itis."

Shiva chuckled a bit as she looked deep into the forest ahead of them, "Before you came along there wasn't anyone who could summon us properly. I mean look at me right now sitting here for the past half hour. You have no idea how… incredible it feels to be connected to such a powerful source of magic."

Naruto laughed a bit causing her to look at him with a puzzled expression. Seeing her face he smiled and looked ahead fondly, "Aniki… Kurama, he was a power source like no other. The two of us were connected on a level that you Guardians could never dream of. We were one, but two. His power was so strong… so intoxicating… and even as he screamed and raged for me to deny the call of it… I fell a number of times to temptation. I can understand how you feel."

Shiva allowed a few moments for the information to sink in before she continued, "All of the students at Balamb are cautious with our power. It is understandable. The Estharian technology they utilize to control magic essence and Junction is a double edged sword. With incredible strength they lose their memory, as you have begun to experience, and so it is not often we are summoned into battle unless the situation is dire. With Squall, he has never been afraid to use our power… he has studied it, spent days practicing it in his spare time, and will call upon us at the drop of a hat. It feels wonderful to be needed, even if for only moments at a time."

Naruto nodded slowly as he thought about her words, "Feeling needed, eh? Don't know how _that_ feels, not really."

Shiva nudged him with her elbow, "We needed you to help save Siren…"

It took a moment, but she could see the accepting smile spread across his lips. Satisfied she had brought him out of his momentary funk, she thought about her next question, "My turn now… okay, I want to know… how do you feel about the women you are traveling with?"

Naruto felt a chill run up his spine as his shinobi senses were screaming about traps. Looking over at the ice queen, he was unsurprised to see that she was observing him intensely. Deciding that a retreat would only sour things, he bore down and answered slowly, "Well let's see… to start with, I can honestly say that Rinnie is like the little sister I always wanted. I can't see her in any other light, especially when she looks at me with that damn adorable little look of admiration. It reminds me of the way a little fella back home used to stare at me from time to time. I… pushed him away back then, and I regret it. I think that might be why I have been keeping Rinoa close. I feel the same way about Selphie really, but she is a lot more mature than Rinoa, so I don't feel as protective. Maybe it is safer to say that Rinoa would be the youngest, therefore the one who gets spoiled." Naruto paused to chuckle a bit while Shiva smiled brightly, "As for Quistis, well, at first I will admit that I developed a sort of… crush on her."

Here he paused to collect his thoughts, and inadvertently left poor Shiva to sit and stew with her feelings. It was no surprise that the blonde shinobi had harbored such feelings for his instructor. She was very beautiful, very kind, and very strong… perfect match for someone like him. Shiva was aware of Quistis' past, if only just barely. Like Naruto, she had once pushed away everyone in favor of focusing on her goals, and suffered for it. In recent history she had failed miserably to secure the affections of her once favored summoner, and until this very moment she had felt pity for the woman. Now… now, she was waiting patiently to discover just how she felt about Quistis.

Naruto seemed to gather his wits just as she broke from her train of thought. With a warm smile he spoke softly, and his words served to significantly calm the savage, womanly beast within her, "Now, after our little spat, I consider her a very good friend. I'm afraid that I will never consider her family, but I do admire her for her dedication and her passion. I'd do anything for her, of course, and a little part of my heart will always probably wonder what if, but everyone has that one that got away, and for what its worth, I feel lucky enough to have her friendship."

Naruto looked over at Shiva and had to fight off a laugh when he noticed the relief in her face. It was pretty surreal to see a woman, albeit a very powerful and magical woman, so interested in him. Perhaps there had been admirers back home, at least one for sure, but none of them had actively sought his attention before. That little egotistical male portion of his brain felt a rush of pride, but he had long since put that testosterone junky down. The bottom line was that he felt excited, happy, and a little bit anxious about it. He'd have to be careful around Shiva if he wanted to honor their agreement to take things slowly.

"So far this has been pretty fun. Let's keep going!" Naruto allowed a little of his excitement to escape while his fist pumped childishly, but instead of an odd look, he heard Shiva laugh and when he saw her join him in his gleeful celebration he beamed, "Okay, let me think… ah, do you have a favorite sibling? I never had any real family, so I'm curious."

Shiva giggled softly as she considered the question, "Oh, I would have to say my little brother TK."

"Tee Kay?" Naruto's attempt to pronounce the name properly left Shiva giggling a little harder, and he could only blush as he tried to look indignant.

Shiva smirked lightly while glancing sideways at Naruto, "Not Tee Kay, just TK. I really wish he had chosen a proper name, like the rest of us, but he decided to keep the name that his little band of children called him: Tonberry King."

"That is… an odd name, yeah." Naruto scratched his chin softly, "Though, I guess there were plenty of weird names back in Konoha too. Hell, I used to give some of the absolute worst nick names to people. Pervert Hermit… need I say more?"

Shiva laughed softly as his sly grin before continuing, "Well, little TK is my youngest brother, and unlike most of our kin he fancied a particular monster… perhaps a little too much. In fact, he married one after he assumed their form, and since has helped maintain the magical essence of non-elemental monsters. He and his little family live on the Centra Continent. After he took on their form… I may have… taken to smothering him in hugs that he was not always willing to participate in. Tonberry are such adorable little monsters!"

Naruto's face went blank as he watched Shiva hugging herself while cooing, clearly imagining the little creatures… whatever they were… crushed in her merciless embrace, "Why do I have the feeling these things are one of the most dangerous creatures on Gaia?"

Shiva let a small smirk grace her lips for only the barest of moments, but Naruto saw it nonetheless, and it made his entire spine shiver, "Don't worry, Naruto, they don't wander very far from their colony in Centra."

"Knowing I will eventually end up having to go and meet your Otouto, I cannot help but feel… insecure." The both of them laughed heartily at the simple comment.

Shiva was the first to recover before turning to face Naruto with a small smirk that caused the young man to stop abruptly, mouth hanging open in mid laugh. When she next spoke he visibly relaxed at her teasing tone, "So, now that its my turn… I have to ask this. I have noticed that recently you've stopped using foul language as much as you did before. Tell me why."

Naruto let a hand brush his hair back before rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, "Well, to be honest… I kind of… sort of… stopped for you."

Whatever Shiva was expecting, that sure wasn't it, "For… for me?" Her face flushed at the very idea that he would go to the trouble of changing anything about himself for her.

Naruto huffed a bit, "Yeah, I know, sounds pretty stupid. At first I was cursing left and right because I felt so free here, so unrestricted. Back there I was a loud mouth, and I was forced to act like an idiot with no manners and no respect. When I got here, I felt like I could finally do whatever I wanted to do, and if I was going to use that kind of language I wanted it to be because I wanted to, not because it matched what people assumed I was supposed to do. It felt pretty great to, really… and then I realized how idiotic the notion of it was as Selphie, Quistis, and you kept scolding me for it. My first impression was to think the bunch of you were being mother hens, but it got me thinking about what I was doing from a more mature point of view.

You were the most vocal about it, considering I spent more time with you actively than them. I ignored it, like I always had back in Konoha when people scolded my bad manners, but eventually I had a little epiphany. It started around the time that I started to appreciate you more…" Naruto paused to cough and hide his blush, "…and eventually I realized that if I wanted you to like me more, I would need to impress you. So, I started to tone down the f-bombings, the s-wordings, and all the other wonderful little sound bites. I still curse from time to time, especially when I stub my toe… but now I choose when it's okay, and I haven't been smacked over the head as often since. Win-win scenario in my book."

Shiva looked down a little as a small hint of guilt sprang up in her chest, "Naruto, you didn't have to…"

Naruto cut her off quickly with gentle words, "Exactly, I didn't _have_ to. I _wanted_ to change my habits, I wanted to be better. You were my inspiration, not my drive. If it makes you feel any better, at least you were never physically abusive about it. That was Selphie."

That seemed to do the trick, though Naruto was sure the small joke had less effect than his genuine reassurance. Knowing that Shiva had narrowly avoided a self degrading downward spiral, he decided to move along and ask her something embarrassing…

"My turn now… kukuku… Tell me, Shiva-chan, what physical traits do you look for in a potential mate?"

Without missing a beat Shiva took a moment to think before giving Naruto a very slow and appreciative once over… well, perhaps thrice over would be a better description, "Does it count if I say 'you'?"

If it weren't for Shiva's undeniably innocent inquisitive eyes he would have sworn the woman did that on purpose to throw him off. With the sincerity of her voice and the lack of deception in her eyes he was convinced that she genuinely meant what her question alluded to, and that left him a bit speechless. He had hoped to embarrass her, perhaps induce a small fantasy that would leave her nose bleeding. Instead he was the one left feeling incredibly vulnerable and embarrassed.

"You can't mean that." He muttered softly, his attention desperately focused on a few strands of grass that were clinging to his pant leg.

Shiva casually tilted her head back as she gazed up into he sky, "I've heard that before so many times. It happens when you spend as much time around teenagers as I have since the founding of Balamb Garden. I have never been attracted to anyone before, male or female, human or monster… and then I met you in limbo. There is no perfect form for me, there is only the perfection that I see in you."

Naruto looked at Shiva for a moment before looking up into the sky as well. He had to admit that he wasn't expecting her to be so blunt, so honest. Up until this point she had been just as awkward about all of this as he had been. It struck him after pondering for a few minutes during their companionable silence that she hadn't linked this with her feelings towards him. This wasn't her confessing that she thought he was handsome, or sexy, or anything like that. Instead, Shiva was merely pointing out an observation that held no influence over how she viewed their relationship. With that in mind, he smiled in realization; she had basically said the same thing he had said earlier when describing the perfect woman. Physical traits meant very little.

Shiva was broken from her stargazing when she felt warmth envelope her hand. Looking down she saw that Naruto had taken hold of it loosely and woven his fingers with hers. That brought a little darkness to her cheeks as she looked up into his deep cerulean eyes. She couldn't find any words that felt right, so she chose instead to smile beautifully and give his hand a squeeze. He looked about to say something before his eye lids drooped. Confused, Shiva was ready to ask him if he was all right, but then she gasped when he fall over backward. She felt the magical link between them shatter, and soon enough the sliver of her consciousness that was connected to his Mindscape awoke with a start back in her little igloo.

She leapt from the bed and tore the little door off it's hinges in her haste to check on the Mindscape, and of course laying flat on his back in the center of the chamber was Naruto. As she floated over to his side she let out a slightly annoyed groan, ' _ **Not this again… and just when things were getting good!'**_

* * *

 _The secluded village of Tauren was located in the beautiful northern continent of Trabia. Surrounded by the harsh north winds, Tauren housed only the heartiest, most willful, and high spirited people in the world, if not the most sophisticated or technologically advanced. Much the opposite of their southern brethren in the Dollet Empire and Centra, pursuits of the mind were a fancy for the young, while the grown man valued that which he earned through the sweat of their brow and the strength of their back. Proper hunting, scavenging, and survival skills were something of second nature, while the truly gifted often sought safe passage aboard vessels leaving the southern coast._

 _Three years had come and gone after the tragedy in Centra when the Lunar Cry rained horror upon the mighty capital. The wide spread of powerful monsters had decimated everything at ground zero, and the entire continent had been overwhelmed within twenty four hours. Families across the world joined in silent mourning for their fallen children, brothers, and sisters who had been in Centra during the massacre. Rumors had spread of several mobile cities abandoning the continent, but people knew better than to put stock in such things. Among the people of Trabia, there were very few who lost loved ones that day, but those who did burned funeral pyres in their honor for days after._

 _With the fall of Centra brought a power vacuum that sent ripples across the world. Esthar, the former technological rival to their mother land of Centra, had taken their place shipping high quality tech goods across the globe almost overnight. Meanwhile, across the sea to the west, The Dollet Empire was suffering internal strife as a rather headstrong young man by the name of Deling was calling for separatist action. Opposition had been strong, but conflict of interest brought the people of distant Timber to arms, further worsening the tension. No one had dared to make any moves quite yet, but popular opinion was in favor of Deling and his Galbadian lap dogs declaring outright war. Civil war was something the entire planet could do without, and all eyes were on the western continent._

 _The people of Tauren had no qualms letting the big boys of the south handle their own business so long as neither made a move to secure resources from Trabia. Galbadia, Dollet, Esthar… none of them would be prepared for the harsh conditions and the strong people of Trabia. And in Tauren, where many of the greatest warriors of Trabia were born and bred, they could also rely on the resident warlock to keep their home safe… Master Nam Kaze._

 _It had happened on the night of the Lunar Cry. What had started as a peaceful night in the north where the moon was a distant and harmless source of light in the cold darkness, became one of complete panic. In the dense and unforgiving forests outside Tauren a great pillar of light turned night to day, and was followed by a powerful shockwave that set many old houses nearly toppling over. The brave men and women of the night's watch sent scouts to investigate the odd magical phenomenon and brought back a man covered in blood, missing his left arm, and nearly drained of all life. The people were afraid at first and called for his immediate death, but the elders would have no such thing. Simple people they may be, but they were not savages._

 _The process of healing the young man had been touch and go for several days. Conventional medicine had proven ineffective due to the extent of his injuries, and their more traditional ideas had been dismissed by the physicians in charge of his safety. In what had been widely accepted as a miracle, the man awoke one day in a fuss, screaming in pain, before performing magic to heal every wound on his body. The action left him severely weakened, and he lost consciousness again quickly after. Healers were kept on hand around the clock to supply his body with liquids and to check him over for any wounds or blemishes. Two weeks of constant care later, and he finally woke up and startled the healer on duty by demanding to see his wife. It took much convincing, but eventually he submit to the truth that he had appeared alone, and he sank into a depression that threatened to end his life._

 _A full year passed before the man found the strength to move on… a full year in the care of a young woman named Mina. After the man had chosen to let himself die nearly everyone in Tauren had left him to it. It may seem harsh, but the people of Trabia were not strong because they coddled the weak, they were strong because the weak were left to find their own way or perish. In Tauren those belief rang truer than anywhere else, and so the young man who had been given a second chance would be left to squander it in self pity if he so chose. That was when Mina stepped forward and chose to defy their beliefs, her own idea of strength being that the truly strong were those who choose to support those who cannot stand alone._

 _The progress had been slow because his loss had struck him rather deeply, but Mina was no weak fool like the rest of her people. She saw the burning embers at the heart of the ashes, and her will power persevered toward rekindling the flames. She never intended to grow close to the stranger, she never thought that perhaps her passion to save him would boil over into new and unexplored regions of her young heart… she never thought that perhaps the man who would overcome her independent and rebellions spirit would ultimately be the man who proved her beliefs. After a year together, the two of them had found a kindred spirit in the other, and friendship blossomed into new love. By helping the young man, this Nam Kaze, move on… Mina unknowingly helped open his heart for her own to fill the void._

 _Another year came and went, and during that time Nam grew strong and bold, his magical talents soon complimented by an equally powerful body. His lost arm had been a rather heavy blow, and the disability would hinder him for the rest of his life, but instead of wallowing in pity he chose to overcome his handicap and prove himself worthy of his new found love. Moving passed the loss of his great love had been a challenge of will, and even after two years a small part of him always hoped she would appear from the ether, their son held in her arms tightly. Mina had never put pressure on him to forget them, and for that he was eternally grateful, and of course it only helped to solidify his love for the woman. After their eventual confessions of affection, Nam was required to submit to the traditional courtship restrictions of Tauren, and Mina had been livid with the elders for their lack of progressive thinking._

 _The rules stipulated that any man wishing the hand of a lady must have been an official resident of the city for at least three years. The suitor and their intended would have to swear an oath of celibacy as proof of their commitment. The suitor would have to prove that he or she could provide for their spouse by either a showing of hunting skill, or performing a trade skill with adequate quality craftsmanship. Mina had practically started a riot among the young Tauren citizens before the elders were able to soothe their anger. It had been agreed that considering his… handicap… he would be judged less harshly than tradition dictated, though the sentiment was hardly necessary in the end._

 _Nam had gone above and beyond with his attempts to gain the favor of the Tauren Elder Council. With hunting and foraging goods clogging the market in Trabia he sought to monopolize the market for Thaumaturgy, Alchemical, and Runic supplies that Trabia had never been able to afford importing from Esthar or Centra. Being one man he did not come into immediate wealth, but with time and a lot of work he was able to ship orders of potions, essence runes, and rare manufactured metal alloys across the northern continent. With a means to provide for his future family, all that was left was to wait, and eventually days turned to weeks, turned to months, and finally a third year was gone in the blink of an eye._

 _Upon the day of his approval hearing Nam was a nervous wreck, though Mina was always by his side with reassuring words and the occasional chaste kiss on the cheek. The hearing itself was short, to the point, and ended in his favor. That night a celebration had been held to properly welcome Nam Kaze to Tauren as a brother, and congratulate him and Mina on their union, finally. There would be no more rumors, no more speculations, no more hushed gossip… the two were married, and for all intents and purposes it had been proven the two had kept to their vows. In the months following, troubles in the south had come to a boiling point, but thankfully nothing full scale had occurred yet to ruin the joy their marriage had brought to their lives._

 _On the outskirts of Tauren stood a rather unimpressive tower built only a single story taller than the tallest buildings in the town proper. Like the rest of the town it had been built out of rough cut stone blocks that helped weather the harsh winds and buffeting snow. The asphalt shingle roof was tipped with several exhaust pipes and a single chimney. Large windows were built into the south facing wall to harness the abundant sunlight that the region enjoyed, despite the low temperatures. Down below, a simple single story home was build in uniform style to the rest of the town, but hanging above the door was a simple wooden sign with an engraving of potion bottles and rune stones._

 _Seated inside at a table in the kitchen was Nam Kaze. He wore a simple brown tunic and heavy black trousers that were obviously meant for purpose rather than fashion. His left sleeve was removed at the shoulder and sewn shut to maintain warmth without the bother of the hanging cloth getting in the way. Strapped to his belt were a number of tools, some mundane, and others of a more magical persuasion. Thick winter boots idly tapped on the stone floor in a rapid rhythm. With his head hunched over the table, his right hand busied itself turning the pages of a rather old and musty smelling tome that would loose dust with each turning of the pages._

 _He released a rather irritated grunt before sitting up and sighing heavily. From behind his seat he felt a presence close in, and soon after a very delicate hand tangled into his slightly messy hair. Wishing for the pleasant sensation to last as long as possible he kept his big mouth shut and closed his eyes. Soon the scent of fresh pine and maple filled his nose as a second hand wrapped lightly around his neck to rub beneath his chin, slowly moving down to his chest. The resulting hum of approval elicited a quiet giggle from behind him, and then the ministrations ceased almost making him groan. Thankfully he had kept his patience and he was rewarded with a weight settling into his lap. Opening his eyes he found the most wonderful sight in the world before him._

 _Mina had walked around and settled into his lap, her leg straddling him like he was some prized show stallion. He admired her beauty as her hands moved to his shoulders, eventually wrapping around his neck in a loose two-handed embrace. The woman wore rather long, elegant blonde hair that rivaled the beauty of the sun in the sky. Her eyes held a depth unlike any he had seen since the loss of his previous wife Kana. Unlike the hazel he had once been mesmerized by, these were the most startling cerulean blue, such a rare color in Gaia. Mina kept to the standard survival over fashion clothing style, but her winter clothes kept to her curves nicely, something that he greatly appreciated on those cold, dark winter nights. Today she was wearing a small addition to the normal attire… a warm boa made of brown fur that he had never seen before. Noticing his eyes trailing her accessory, Mina's eyes flashed with something akin to mischief._

" _You like?" Mina practically purred while bringing the fluffy boa close to her neck and 'accidentally' puffing up her chest._

 _This alleged blunder was not missed by Nam, who found her generous bust far too distracting, even though it was completely concealed by her cold weather coverings, "I-its beautiful, honey… when did you get that?"_

 _Mina let a satisfied smirk brush across her face for a moment before it melted away in favor of a warm smile, "A shipment of exotic goods was delivered to the General Shop, and I thought that you might like to see me show off a little bit…"_

" _Gah, you know exactly what you do to me, right?" Nam asked with faux anxiety, the grin on his face crushing any chance of fooling her._

 _Mina shifted a little around in his lap before settling down and leaning into him, her head resting on his right shoulder, "Of course I do. I thought you could use a little distraction, Nam. You realize that you've been working non-stop for the past week? I worry when you act like this…"_

 _The man wrapped the woman in a one-armed hug and relished in her warmth and the scent of her soft hair, "I'm sorry love, I just… I have been having strange dreams lately. It's nothing to worry about, honestly. I made a breakthrough with my latest runic formula, so I wound up obsessing over it to try and distract myself from the dreams."_

 _He felt a hand rub against his neck again while her warm breath washed over his skin causing him to bristle a little, "Anything that distracts you from me is something to worry about. Tell me about your dreams, please?"_

 _Nam could never refuse the woman when she pressed all of his buttons like that, and her cute little pleading voice didn't help him either, "I see myself standing over the town. Tauren is there just as plain as it normally is. Then, as I blink, the next moment the town is gone and nothing is left of it. All that is left is a crater, and the air is thick with residual magic… it is such thick, dark essence that I can hardly breath."_

" _Nam, my love, everyone has nightmares. You shouldn't let these bad dreams keep you from our bed. I haven't seen you sleep longer than a few hours in a week." Mina's voice was low, but Nam could still hear the quivering in her tone._

 _Nam gently pushed Mina away only to lean forward and capture her lips in a deep and passionate kiss. Mina's quakes ceased as her entirety seemed to melt. Soon enough Mina's arms wound snugly around his neck to hold their bodies together, neither of them showing any signs of slowing. The warlock's hand drew circles up and down her back before eventually tangling in the draped locks of her beautiful blonde hair. When their need for air finally overpowered their need for comfort the two of them broke apart and took in a sharp breath. Nam looked deeply into Mina's eyes as their foreheads touched to provide support to both of the breathless lovers. A few moments of comfortable silence filled the kitchen before Mina pressed forward to steal a few quick kisses from her beloved husband, his lips still tasting of mint from the tea he often drank through each day._

 _Nam soon became lost in his love for Mina and would have no further distractions stealing him away from her. He cast a low level Float spell on the woman before skillfully lifting her up into his one arm, effectively moving her into a bridal carry. Mina squeaked as her weightless lower body floated in air while her back was supported by the single arm of her lover. She could not keep the giggling from overtaking her as a small childish sense of wonder found her weightlessness absolutely wonderful. Nam grinned and then walked the two of them out of the kitchen toward their bed chambers where he would show her exactly how handi-capable he was._

 _Meanwhile, miles away along the southern coast of of the Trabia continent, a massive structure was floating across the ocean in an aimless, slow crawl. To the simple people of Trabia the thing might as well be a water logged UFO, but to most of the civilized world it was clearly one of the infamous Centra Mobile Cities, though it was clearly one of the smaller ones. In truth the place had been a military training facility designed specifically to teach the arts of war, policing, and law. During the Lunar Cry three years earlier this particular facility had been a haven for people seeking escape from the monster horde. The way things had gone after that night, it was no wonder the floating fortress looked abandoned, and the scorch marks were a sign that who ever had been aboard had fought valiantly._

 _As the facility made land fall the hover gyros hummed to life giving enough lift to escape the sea. Like a ghost ship, the massive structure mowed over trees and sent clouds of snow and loose soil into the air for miles around. It would be hours before the specter of steel and stone found an adequate source of natural magic essence to replenish it's systems. With the perfect location to tap into, the gyros turned and spun, and created a drill that dug deep enough for a solid foundation before rising into the air to hover and gather solar essence while the ground would provide a slower, albeit more potent flow of natural essence to power the generators inside. With that, facility GR-DN 003 opened its security doors before powering down to rest._

 _From the primary entrance a single man walked from the darkness, his entire body wrapped in dark clothes with a hood over his head. Glancing around slowly, he focused on a specific direction west of the landing sight. Two hazel eyes seemed to glow with a quiet rage before he strode forth into the harsh Trabia countryside._

* * *

In the misleadingly empty Mindscape of Uzumaki Naruto, five entities of great power stood hovering over the body of the blond boy who was resting on the furred leg of a sixth. While Shiva would likely have taken Naruto to rest in her own little private quarters, Kurama had surprisingly been the one to persuade her against it. She had expected such resistance from Siren, their resident mother hen. Instead, Kurama had rushed to Naruto's side even before Shiva could see him move, and demanded that no one touch him. He had been firm enough, but the great fox meant no ill will toward her or any of the others, he was just overwhelmed with concern for the young man. Surprisingly, Diablos had decided to stay and keep watch over Naruto along with the others, though no one had commented on it.

Siren had been watching over his form with calculating eyes, softly grumbling about irresponsible young people always getting into trouble. Ifrit and Raikiri had been rather passive during the whole thing after it had been declared he was alive, just trapped in a strange sort of unconsciousness. Without any form of mind magic there was nothing to do but wait, and that really irritated the Guardian of Life Magic. Kurama would have found this rather amusing if not for Naruto's current condition, though if the little brat woke up he would certainly enjoy the memory later on. Everyone's attention was caught by Siren letting out a rather uncharacteristic groan of frustration.

" **I simply do not understand why he hasn't woken up yet. Has he always been prone to such random bouts of illness?** " Siren looked questioningly at Kurama making the fox snort.

" **You have no idea. Back in our former world the boy couldn't step five feet outside the village without running into a near death experience.** " Kurama looked down at Naruto before pressing his nose against his body to check for warmth, even if he knew the body was only his mental projection.

Ifrit let out a small snort of amusement before wincing when Shiva gave his arm a small bit of frost. She let her glare soften as she looked away from the fire demon back toward Naruto, " **Did he ever slip into a sleep like this before?** "

Kurama gave the question some thought before nodding slowly, " **Often times after using my chakra he would fall into an unfit sleep like this. The human body, no matter how hearty, is not built to withstand the taint of demonic energy. In order to heal, not only would his body nearly shut down, so would his mind. I am not sure what has caused this strange coma now, but I don't think he is damaged."**

" **This is no coma."** Diablos voice sounded from his place behind the others.

Siren turned to her sibling with a quizzical look, **"What do you mean, brother?"**

Diablos rolled his eyes at the overly proper speech of his sibling before pointing a clawed finger toward Naruto, **"This is not a coma, it is a trance. Practitioners of Mind Sight magic used to go into such trances in order to view glimpses of the future, though most conventional magic users found the art rather useless, and the people who studied it were seen as crackpots. After the fall of Centra all such study was lost to history, though there are rumors some may have escaped to Esthar before the end of the Third Sorceress War."**

" **Trust me, if the boy could view the future, he would have become a professional gambler instead of a shinobi."** Kurama mused while wearing a toothy grin that brought a smile to everyone's face save for Diablos who settled for another eye roll.

" **Jokes aside, I would not be surprised if he was suffering through some kind of divination, if not the future then perhaps events elsewhere in the present. It is not unheard of for those with strong natural magic to receive premonitions of trouble. For instance, perhaps he is seeing something that this new Sorceress is up to where ever she ran to."** Diablos gave a small shrug of indifference before walking back to his private platform to observe the movement of the universe.

Ifrit watched the dark devil walk away with narrowed eyes, his ire still intensely focused on the bastard who took away his lover, **"While I do not approve of the beast, Diablos is our most knowledgeable in the lesser known branches of magic. It is unlikely he would lie, considering Siren is among us."**

Siren glanced over to her brother as he stood facing his strange model of the universe and wondered if he could truly be trusted after everything he'd told her. She wouldn't voice this opinion to the others, but the Time-Space Guardian would probably do away with Naruto if ever provoked, and to hell with the consequences. She heaved a small sigh before standing to her feet and walking up to Raikiri, placing a hand on his golden chest to brush her fingers at a particularly sensitive spot. His appreciative rumble brought a smile to her lips before she looked up into his eyes.

" **I leave the boy in your care. I must see to my brother. Call me if you need; there is little I can do for his mental projection, but I will assist as much as possible."**

Raikiri let his head dip into a small bow before watching her retreat toward Diablos. The two began to speak in hushed tones, and the Great Thunder Bird could tell their focus was Naruto. Turning back to the others he noticed that Shiva had finally found the courage to approach the young man. He was no fool… he knew that Siren had been stepping up in order to put a stop to their budding relationship. While he didn't agree with the methods, he could sympathize with Siren's concern for Shiva… after all the ice queen was his direct sibling. Raikiri always maintained a state of neutrality when it came to the actions of his sibling Guardians, and he would not actively stand between Shiva and her choices.

Floating over gracefully on an unseen wind, Raikiri joined Shiva and Kurama in the vigil over the human with his eyes scanning him for any possible wouns, **"Sometimes I still have difficulty remembering that this is not his true body."**

" **You get used to it, really. It took a great deal of time between my first host and this little brat before I finally accepted my situation. At least this Mindscape was comfortable and spacious."** Kurama let a small chortle shake his body, which caused Naruto's body to shake and one of the arms to fall to the side.

Shiva stepped up to place his arm back up on the fox's leg. She gave Naruto's forehead a small rub with her hand making sure not to frost over the skin there, **"Is it true that this place is so empty because he is… well… you know?"**

Kurama let loose a booming laugh that caught everyone off guard, even the wo Guardians standing apart from the rest, **"I was teasing the boy, silly ice queen. Just because this place is called a Mindscape does not mean that it is located within his mind. This place is tied into his magical core, which is located…?"**

Raikiri realized that he was leading on for one of them to answer and so he chose to speak when Shiva remained silent, **"In the stomach, where the body processes most of it's energy."**

" **Got it in one, and so the many empty passages that surround this chamber are actually the pathways which help move his magic, and back in the Elemental Nations his chakra, around the body for use in various tasks. This chamber is the result of my previous prison cell providing an adequate place for my consciousness to coexist within Naruto. Now that I reside outside of his physical body, there is hardly any of my consciousness here, providing ample space for all of you. Due to your knowledge of the Guardians that exist in this world, the chamber must have adapted and changed to provide room for us all to share in the Mindscape."** Kurama brought his free paw to rest his chin against while he spoke with half-lidded eyes, giving the impression that he was exhausted.

" **Are you implying that the Mindscape can extract and interpret information from our minds without our knowing?"** Raikiri asked his question with a very skeptical tone which slightly irritated Kurama.

The fox eyed the bird with a look that Raikiri thought was a bit threatening, **"How do you suppose the Mindscape was able to resize itself to accommodate all of us if Naruto was unaware of how many Guardians exist? The boy can reshape this place at will if he so chose, but without that information he would have to be damn lucky."**

" **We can rule out luck, all things considered."** Shiva added with a small amused smirk, her hand gently combing through Naruto's hair. Said hand froze a moment later when a familiar voice cut into their conversation.

"I'd like to interject there for a moment and inform you all that I have insane luck with cards…" Naruto groaned softly before sitting up and rubbing his face with vigor, "I'm willing to submit that there is something really, really messed up going on here. That would be the second dream I've had about that guy… Nam Kaze…"

" **What are the odds that you would have a dream about a man with such a name…"** Kurama mused quietly while keeping his paw in place so Naruto wouldn't roll off in his half-sleep, **"Strikingly similar to Namikaze, don't you think?"**

"Maybe I'm just imagining up weird things about my father?" Naruto rubbed his temples to relieve a small ache that was forming, "No, this guy doesn't look anything like him… but that woman though."

" **You realize this is how things always start, don't you kit? Every time something goes wrong, it always starts with something peculiar. Need I remind you of the time-."** Kurama chuckled when Naruto leapt up and put a hand over his enormous snout to try and keep him silent.

"Don't jinx it damn you! You keep talking and the next thing you know there will be freaking flaming hail and swarms of toads!" Naruto was especially shaken by the thought of toads swarming.

Kurama grinned toothily when the blonde released his muzzle, **"The old pervert only did that once, and it was actually a rather clever exercise in stealth and evasion…"**

"So… much… moist… skin…" Naruto muttered from his spot on the great fox paw.

Having seen Naruto stirring from their place to the side Siren and Diablos chose then to rejoin he group. The winged female was at his side in seconds checking over his mental projection for any anomalies that might hint as damage to his psyche, **"Naruto, how are you feeling? Any trouble focusing?"**

Naruto felt like he was being inspected by Tsunade's eager assistant from back in Konoha, whatever her name had been, "No trouble focusing, Siren-san. I do have a pretty nasty headache, but it feels more like a hangover."

" **Okay that's probably normal all things consi-… wait, and just how would someone your age know what a hangover feels like?"** Siren gave Naruto a look that while he had never had a mother in his life, he was positive this would be akin to something said mother would send his way.

Sweating, as miraculous as such an action would be in his imagination, he tried to explain, "Well, back in Konoha, it was legal to sell liquor to a member of the shinobi corps regardless of age due to-"

" **Alcohol negatively effects several key organs in the body and can dull sensory perceptions, which leads to accidents and poor decisions. I don't care what you may or may not have been up to back in this Kokoka or where ever, as long as you are in** _ **this**_ **dimension, you will not be drinking until you are at least twenty one, are we clear?"** Siren had a look of intensity to her eyes that forced Naruto to nod silently without even thinking of arguing.

Kurama couldn't help laughing at Naruto's predicament, **"As much as I enjoy watching the boy get his tail torn off, perhaps we should focus on his current situation and leave the lectures for another time, hm?"**

Siren huffed indignantly, but she conceded the point before tending to Naruto's health needs. Examining his mental condition would require deeper scans, but for now she seemed content with his condition enough to step back beside her brother. Diablos was standing impassive, though his eyes were narrowed dangerously and Ifrit who had been standing behind Shiva was the only one to notice it. The fire demon wanted to know just what the oversized bat's problem was, but now would be a poor time to try dealing with him. Kurama could see Ifrit's heated glare pointed toward the suspicious dark one and it worried him, which was unsettling because hardly anything ever gave the Great Nine Tails cause to worry.

Kurama settled down a bit while watching Naruto suffer under the doting attention of the clearly love sick ice queen, _**'Just what is going on here… and why do I feel like the Shinigami is more involved than she let on…?**_

* * *

 **There you go my lovely senpais, Chapter 16. Hope you enjoyed, and hope to get the next one our real soon. Love yourselves and love your kohais! Read, Review, and Share!**

 **Also, for those interested, I am thinking about using my twitter for my writing. If you're interested...**

 **GarnSolo**


	17. Chapter 17

**Dear senpais, I have returned. No long stories to explain why this took so long to come out. I got depressed, lost my inspiration, became more depressed, sank to the bottom of a pit full of half-assed fan fictions and spaghetti, and then crawled my way back out one story at a time. I'd apologize, but then that wouldn't be cool, so I'm going to act aloof and indifferent. (but you all know that deep inside is a crying infant in the fetal position sucking on a bottle of juiced spaghetti, wearing a pair of reflective, red tinted sunglasses and a santa hat)**

 **This chapter has a bit of a fluff, so there's that. My avid Naru/Shiva fans will enjoy the end of this chapter, I hope. Promises for the future chapters: action, action, drama, and ass whoopins.**

 **Semi-spoiler: The final SeeD has taken root.**

* * *

Balamb, Galbadia, and Trabia… three countries with nearly nothing in common, save the one thing that brings the three together in the most unique way: Gardens. In Trabia, young people were given the opportunity to learn the ways of battle, teamwork, and politics. Due to their location in the far north, the students were often sent away for special examinations and elective training. Balamb focused heavily on individual growth and more specialized forms of combat, particularly in the distribution of unique weapons training, magical study, and finally the advanced use of Guardian Forces to enhance physical and mental capabilities in the field. Balamb spearheaded the SeeD program utilized by all Garden facilities and hosted the most frequent testing periods with Galbadia coming a close second. Galbadia Garden was often seen as the black sheep of the three sister schools. While Trabia and Balamb work to improve their cadets for personal gain, Galbadia utilized a strict, standardized form of training to streamline their cadets into active duty under the Galbadian flag. SeeD students were often given specialized training in experimental weaponry requiring thorough field testing, in stark contrast to the more conservative weapons training provided at Balamb and Trabia.

Galbadia Garden was always under observation by regional law makers to be sure that their active military were well equipped to face any and all opposition. Their strict adherence to global restrictions on Guardian Forces forced the Garden to make the difficult decision to abandon advanced combat magic, going so far as to avoid any and all offers from Balamb Garden for student exchange programs. All magical study was done under heavy observation through the use of inferior mana gauntlets developed by top scientists in select research facilities across Galbadia and all of her lesser annexed city-states. That being said, one mustn't assume that the students of the Garden system harbor any grudges, on the contrary SeeD from Galbadia, Balamb, and Trabia often engage in joint missions across the globe.

Speaking of, a particular motley crew of Balamb SeeD, along with one rough around the edges cadet and one blue princess, were currently standing outside the main gate leading to the illustrious Galbadia Garden observing the large structure with equal wonder and hesitation. Well, most of them were. Quistis, being the badass elite SeeD member among them, was very familiar with the military academy and stood observing the Garden with nostalgia. During her earlier years she'd been called to aid in over a dozen operations with Galbadia Garden including several Sweeps of the countryside to rid Galbadia of particularly nasty groups of terrorists. She'd never admit to having participated in those kinds of things in front of Rinoa if she could help it, but she had been following orders… it wasn't personal.

Naruto, ever the eloquent one among them, decided to be the first to break the ice, "Think they made it big enough?"

Leon groaned while slapping a palm to his forehead while Zell and Selphie chuckled at the antics of their strong and silent leader. Quistis decided to reply while hiding the tiny smirk on her lips, "Galbadia demands a strong and disciplined military, so they have spent quite a lot of Gil upgrading the facilities here to accommodate as many students as possible. Only ten out of a hundred students in each year are even given the opportunity to take the SeeD Exams, and then they're only given one chance before they are sent to the standard military."

Naruto looked up at the odd shaped building in slight wonder. It wasn't all that different from Balamb Garden, which made sense. The odd thing was that he felt like the two buildings were more familiar to him than they should be. He'd only just seen Galbadia Garden, so that didn't make sense… and though he had been living in Balamb Garden for at least a month he'd never been this far from the main building enough to really get a good look at it. His musings were broken by the feeling of someone holding onto his right arm. Turning his head slightly he noticed the familiar black and brown hair of Rinoa huddled rather close to him. It wasn't the kind of closeness that he'd felt from Shiva during their brief moments together, this was the kind of closeness that he'd seen little siblings express toward their elder brothers and sisters.

"Everything okay, Rinnie-chan?" Naruto spoke softly to keep the girl calm.

Rinoa looked up at him and gave a small shake of her head before eyeing the Garden once more, "I'm scared… what if they recognize me? What if they take us for questioning?"

"Ah, first of all, you have nothing to worry about Rinnie-chan. If anything happens I'll get you out of there so fast they'll get whiplash from the wind we kick up." Rinoa couldn't help a small smile when she pictured her pseudo big brother running around carrying her piggy back away from Galbadian soldiers, "And secondly, if you're so worried about being recognized, then you have my permission to use the new technique we were practicing on the train."

She perked up at that and her eyes sparkled a bit, "Really? You think I could do it?"

Naruto looked over at Leon and waved him over. While the scarred teen wasn't particularly in the mood for Naruto's usual shenanigans, he walked over regardless to give the blonde a chance. When the brunette was close enough Naruto pulled him into his free arm wrapping him in a surprisingly snug hold, "Okay Leon, as leader of our team it's your call on how we do things, so against my better judgment I decided to clear this with you instead of turning it into an awesome, elaborate prank."

Leon's eyes narrowed slightly while his arms continued their futile attempts at freedom, "You have my attention…"

"Okay so… Rinnie-chan is nervous about being recognized considering her usual posse…" Naruto let that hang for a moment until he saw the other teen's sign of recognition, "… so I gave her permission to use a disguise technique from my old world. From what I can tell she is good, and there is little risk of the technique failing unless she is attacked, which shouldn't happen. What do you think?"

Leon was finally released from Naruto's tight embrace for which he was grateful. Taking a thinking pose, the swordsman weighed his options before looking directly into Rinoa's eyes which made the girl blush, "You're sure you want to take the risk? You go in as is and there is a fifty percent chance you'll be safe. You go in under this disguise and it fails… consider yourself completely compromised, and possibly everyone else as well."

Naruto frowned, but he knew that Leon was actually thinking like a good leader with his reasoning. Back in the Elemental Nations, a dropped Henge during an infiltration was a death sentence. The likelihood of immediate execution here was pretty low, but if they could avoid becoming fugitives then that would be fantastic. Still, with all of this taken into consideration, Naruto didn't like the way he implied that Rinoa might not be up to the task.

"I've been taking these kids of risks since before you even became a SeeD mister big shot, so don't talk to me about the consequences of failure. I know just what Galbadia is capable of." Rinoa huffed indignantly before bumping fists with Naruto who was simply smirking and had offered up his fist out of instinct half way through her reply.

Leon watched the two of them stare at him with his right brow twitching violently, his normal scowl deepening into a dark frown, "I really wish the two of you would take this more seriously…"

Quistis walked to the front of the group gathering everyone's attention, "Listen up everyone, I am going to go on ahead and speak with their headmaster. I've got history with the man so I will be able to negotiate temporary shelter here while we contact Balamb about recent… developments." Here she eyed Seifer for a moment, "Take your time, explore, greet people, get to know your fellow Garden cadets, but be careful not to cause a ruckus. Report to your post when you hear the call over the announcement system, understood?"

As the senior SeeD member among them everyone understood to follow her orders while outside the parameters of a mission. For all intents and purposes the mission for the Forest Owls might as well be over, so even Leon gave a nod of consent to his upperclassman. With that settled Quistis took off at a jog to attend her duties. Seifer knew to follow after her, though just to be defiant he walked at a sedate pace which would eventually force Quistis to make several unscheduled stops along her route. Naruto shook his head while smirking at the retreating back of the long coat wearing disciplinarian. Leon turned to the team and closed his eyes in thought.

"We're all unfamiliar with this facility, so try not to wander off too far. If the Guardians are with us… " Leon ignored the mischievous grin that Naruto sent his way, "…there will be maps at every staircase. Selphie, I want you to make sure that Zell doesn't do anything reckless." Selphie wore a rather satisfied smirk while eyeing a particularly downcast blonde boxer, "Rinoa, keep that low profile we discussed and stay by Naruto's side at all times. I am loathe to admit this, but he is the most reliable person on the team for you to depend on. Naruto…"

"First you shower me with praises and then you use that tone, come on guy.~" Naruto mock whined while holding his heart, "This emotional rollercoaster that you have me on needs to end."

Leon slowly clenched his fists causing several of his knuckles to crunch and crack. Naruto merely grinned at the teen with nary a care in the world. Steeling his reserve, Leon ignored the mocking gibes in order to finish his instructions, "I want you… stop smirking, that wasn't an innuendo! Grr… you are to keep Rinoa out of trouble no matter what. Consider this an Emergency Code Black. None of us know who she is, none of us have known where she came from. If she is discovered, you are to flee with her back to Balamb where you can properly be reprocessed and given a new identity to resume your active duty with SeeD. For now, claim she is a member of SeeD working as your partner in conjunction with our team temporarily. Plausible deniability, got it?"

Naruto pulled Rinoa into his side with a tight hug before giving Leon a thumb up, "Got it, Leader-hime, we're going super ninja mode while you get to play dumb. You always get the easy jobs."

Leon stared blankly at Naruto while processing what had just been said, "…Everything you just said was an insult… wasn't it?" He groaned before turning toward the Garden and stalking off with a huff, Zell and Selphie rushing off behind him to keep their team together for as long as possible.

"Not that I don't find this whole thing completely hilarious… why were you being so mean to him?" Rinoa looked up at Naruto and saw that his face had lost all hints of teasing and humor.

Naruto took a deep breath before sighing explosively, "Well Rinnie-chan, he has the world's biggest stick shoved right up where the sun doesn't shine. Everyday it gets a little further out, and I can see that he is improving for the better. I want him to care about his friends more than his career, more than the mission. Also, if my cute little sister is going to keep blushing around him and getting into adorable little lover's quarrels with him, then I need to give him the Uzumaki-Once-Over. If he can survive me then he has my blessing."

Rinoa was beet red by the time Naruto had finished talking. She gave him a swat on the chest before burying her face into his shoulder, "Is it that obvious…?"

"Trust me, I spent a long time watching a girl fawning over a guy, I know when a girl has a crush on someone…" Naruto was going to continue before he heard boisterous laughter filling his head.

' _Kurama, the hell are you laughing at, hm?!'_

" _ **You wouldn't know if a woman was interested in you if she wrote it in the sky with giant ramen noodles. You expect me to sit here and let you claim to know anything about girls liking boys?"**_

' _Frick you, all right?! Let me be a big brother for five minutes before you make your snide little comments, Aniki!'_

" _ **Whatever, little brother…"**_ Kurama cut the connection while chuckling evilly.

"Stupid fox!" Naruto couldn't help grumbling heatedly, which caught the attention of his companion.

"What's wrong, Naruto?" Rinoa had worry in her tone, her previous embarrassment completely forgotten.

Naruto looked at her before grinning sheepishly, "Heh… was just having an argument with Kurama…"

Rinoa's eyes narrowed slightly as she felt a sudden desire to know just what the two had been discussing, "Oh~ And what did big brother fox say that caused you to get so flustered?"

Naruto found something off to their right incredibly interesting while scratching his cheek with his index finger, "…"

"I don't think I heard that…" Rinoa dug her finger into his side effectively hitting one of his few soft spots.

Naruto squawked before batting her finger away with rapid waves of his hand, "Ahh, don't do that! He was teasing me about this girl back home who had the world's most awkward obsession with me, and I was… a little less than aware of it than everyone around me… and no one said anything…"

Rinoa coughed into her hand a few times to cover up a small chuckle that Naruto saw right through while sending her a little mock glare, " Well… that is interesting… I'll be sure to remember that for blackm- I mean…"

"Just… just transform, damn you." Naruto buried his face into his palm pitifully.

Rinoa giggled at his frustrated expression before nodding, forming the hand seal that Naruto instructed her to use to focus her magic. The process took about half as long as it did during their lesson, though it was still going to be a while before she had the hang of it. Naruto watched with a smile as his little sister, and in this case technically his student, burst in a small cloud of dust that quickly blew away in a small breeze to reveal her new temporary form. To say that he was surprised would be an understatement, but he was actually a little flattered. Rinoa's usual raven and brown hair had transformed into a solid blonde not dissimilar to his own. Her eyes had shifted to a deep cerulean to match his, and below her eyes on each cheek were two sets of matching whisker marks. Her blue outfit switched into a standard cadet uniform like the ones students at Balamb wear before graduating.

"So, what do you think?" Rinoa performed a small twirl before settling her hands behind her back and leaning forward to wink.

Naruto smirked softly before shaking his head, "Pretty good, though you need to work on the speed. Also… whiskers, really?"

Rinoa laughed behind her hand at the face Naruto made, "I was only teasing, but I do love this hair color." Her body slowly shimmered before returning to normal, "Let me try something else, okay?"

Naruto stood back with his arms crossed to watch her perform the technique once more. Honestly he wasn't in any rush to head inside the Garden behind him. He'd done some research on Balamb's two sister Gardens during his month of training for the SeeD exams. Trabia sounded like a pretty cool place to visit, no pun intended, and considering how friendly Selphie was he knew he'd fit in there just fine. Galbadia Garden… reminded him a lot of Iwagakure back home. Like Iwa, the military of Galbadia was their focus, and the government used the Garden to produce rank and file soldiers instead of specialized mercenaries like the other countries. He could respect their decision, after all a strong military is needed to protect as much as it is needed to invade. That didn't mean he had to approve of it.

"Okay, how is this?" Rinoa's voice broke him out of his thoughts and brough him back to solid earth. The young woman had transformed into a slightly shorter, slightly more rounded girl with tanned skin and long red hair. Her eyes twinkled in the sun, their now violet irises giving off warmth. Her lips were full ruby red that brought attention to her playful little half smirk. She'd opted to keep the cadet uniform to help blend in with the other students in the Garden.

Naruto studied her over for a moment before smiling, "Better, but I have to ask, where did you get the idea for this particular image?"

"Let's just say that a little fox might have given me a few ideas back in Timber…" Rinoa spoke with a cryptic air that was ruined by the playful chuckle she let slip after Naruto's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Come on let's go. You did a great job. I swear, if I ever did have a sister she probably would have come out looking exactly the way you do." Naruto started walking toward the Garden while motioning for her to follow up.

* * *

Naruto and Rinoa were able to slip in with very little difficulty, and the student body seemed too focused on their routine tasks to give either of them much notice. Unfortunately their delay outside gave them no time to explore before their team had been called to one of the conference rooms on the second floor. Galbadia Garden was structured much more like a standard academy with very little wasted space, unlike Balamb that seemed to enjoy their aesthetics. It made sense when one considered that Galbadia Garden was much more focused on producing normal soldiers for the military. Balamb needed to put on a bit more class to impress prospective clients, so their sacrifice was technically justified, though that resulted in far higher standards for both admission and graduation.

As Naruto observed all of the differences he had to wonder if Trabia's focus on team work and strategy influenced the growth and development of their Garden as well. He wagered they would have more standardized classroom space for desk work, and a much warmer atmosphere in their dorms to help develop more familial connections between peers. That was how Konoha's Shinobi Academy had been built. The students were given a lot of desk work, writing and reading exercises to help promote healthy minds with only a slightly focused course on physical conditioning. With that in mind, he sorely hoped that Trabia was _not_ like that, and the reminder that Selphie originally studied there helped to settle him down. If Selphie was an example of Trabia's courses, he had nothing to worry about.

When the two of them arrived they found everyone already waiting for them except for Quistis and Seifer. The room was pretty plain with a table, several uncomfortable looking chairs, a few plants in the corners, and a monitor built into the far wall used for electronic presentations. Zell and Selphie were sat at the table playing a quick game of Triple Triad while Leon stood off to the side with his eyes shut and his arms crossed. Rinoa was eyeing the card game the moment they stepped through the door, so Naruto let the girl go about her business while he walked over to the brunette brooding in the corner. It took several minutes for Leon to notice that Naruto was standing there by his side, and a few moments more for him to see that the playful blonde had been mimicking his stance.

"Bout time you stopped brooding. Want to talk about it?" Naruto didn't even bother opening his eyes to see that Leon was giving him a slight stink eye.

Heaving a deep sigh he resumed his relaxed position, though with his back leaned against the wall to avoid giving Naruto the satisfaction of copying him any further, "Not particularly… but I'd put money on you not letting this go any time soon."

"You know me so well. Now are you going to talk, or do I have to bug you?" Naruto let a small smirk quirk the edge of his lips.

"This is you _not_ bugging me? Guardians forbid…" Leon huffed a bit while looking off to the side, "I guess… a lot's happened recently and I'm having a hard time keeping up. How the hell do you handle everything so well? You've been through a lot more than I have, both here and… there…" Leon trailed off at the end.

"Is this about the mission, or is this about me? Or perhaps something else…?" Naruto used a gentle tone to try and push Leon to open up.

The swordsman took a moment to collect his thoughts before speaking, "As far as you are concerned… I am willing to accept it all, but I will need time to fully come to terms. The mission has been…" Here he paused to look over at Rinoa in her disguise and Naruto could see the surprise in his eyes briefly before he shook it off, "I suppose it's been a shit storm, pardon my French… but then again, it's pushed me to new limits emotionally… this is hard to discuss." He finished with a scowl as his default stoic persona overwhelmed the budding functional human being within.

Leon blinked rapidly after feeling a brief pressure on his forehead. When his focus was restored he saw Naruto pulling back his hand, the fingers positioned in a classic poking fashion, "Oi, you know what you need to do…? Wing it."

"…What?" Leon's response was only the most eloquent and thoughtful phrase to have ever been uttered in all of Gaia's history.

"All of this thinking is getting you nowhere, ya know? Thinking is what had you slamming me into the wall, mouthing off at Rinoa, and nearly beaten to a pulp back at the Television Station. Hang loose, let things go, and improvise! And for Kami's sake trust your friends, I cannot stress that enough." Naruto finished up with a very sagely nod of his head which left Leon groaning into his palm out of mild irritation.

Whatever retort he might have had for the lackadaisical piece of advice that the former shinobi had given him died when the door to the conference room opened to reveal Quistis and a slightly miffed Seifer. Quistis was wearing a very smug smile while ushering the youth through the door, and then her smile softened and warmed up when she turned to the rest of their group. Naruto gave a mock salute to his upperclassman before walking up to her and grinning widely.

"You look pretty pleased, Quistis-senpai. Good news from the old man?" Naruto grinned even wider when he saw her brow twitching at his lack of respect for Cid.

"Yes, actually, the _Headmaster_ was filled in on your situation after I gave my report on this one…" Quistis jabbed a thumb to the side while Seifer did his absolute best to ignore her, "…and he's decided to update your mission."

This bit of news had everyone standing up at attention under her watchful eye. It had been a long while since she commanded such respect, and she'd be lying if it didn't feel damn good. Of course Naruto was the obvious exception as the teen stood with his left hand on his hip and his right hanging loose at his side. Ignoring him for the moment she put on her professional mask in order to address them all in a tone fitting a SeeD of her rank and report.

"As of now, Team Leader Squall Leonhart, you will be reporting to Deling City for a joint operation between Galbadia and Balamb Gardens with team members Zell Dincht and Selphie Tilmitt acting as support, as well as an additional SeeD Agent stationed here in Galbadia Garden. SeeD Agent Naruto Uzumaki has been issued a separate mission by our new client to investigate a set of ruins near Deling City called The Tomb of the Unknown King. You will be taking client Rinoa Heartilly, as well as Cadet Seifer Almasy and myself as your support. The details of your mission are here… "Quistis handed Naruto a file which he briefly skimmed though before retuning his attention to her, "... Headmaster Cid advised caution and wished to remind you that Rinoa's protection is of the utmost importance. Upon completion of your primary objective, you are to report to Deling City where the client will further update our mission parameters.

Squall, report to the main entrance in fifteen minutes to meet your new team member. Upon arrival in Deling City you are to blend in with the tourist crowds assembling for the upcoming festival celebration. Observe the city, note any and all points of interest, map out soldier and civilian police patrols, and be ready to move as soon as Naruto's team arrives. Any questions?"

"Why are we splitting up? It would be more efficient to have the whole team on one assignment." Leon half inquired and half complained, though his tone easily masked his undertones of irritation at his team being handicapped.

Quistis turned to face him, "A smaller team is best suited to recon, and reports on the Tomb suggest that the structure is small, with narrow passages that make moving as a group more difficult. Our teams will regroup soon enough, and by then we will need all the fire power we can get, if my hunch about our client is correct…"

"Care to share your thoughts, senpai?" Naruto had forgone all traces of amusement from his voice.

The blue mage looked around at everyone before sighing, "I have a hunch that soon we may be issued a rather risky assassination mission, but as of now I can't be sure… For now, focus on your current objectives and we'll cross that bridge when we get there."

"Not complaining, but I have to ask… why is Seifer going with you and Naruto? I figured he would be on the first train back to Balamb." Zell rubbed the back of his head softly while avoiding the slightly heated glare that Seifer sent him.

Quistis chuckled softly before responding, "Headmaster Cid believes that because Seifer's heart was in the right place, for once…" She flashed Seifer a warning look making him cow slightly, "…that he would give the Cadet a chance to prove he has what it takes to become an official SeeD. This could be considered a Field Exam of sorts, just on a much smaller scale than normal. As his retainer I will of course be accompanying him as well as providing support to your teams, just to answer the question as to my involvement."

"And I guess Rinoa's with me to keep her under the radar for as long as possible, yeah?" Naruto added and was pleased when he got the nod of confirmation, "This is perfect. It'll be like taking my baby sister on a camping trip."

Naruto didn't flinch when he felt a weak slap over his head, nor did he respond to the various snorts and sniggers of amusement from his peers, "Quistis, take Rinoa down to the Depot on the first floor and outfit her with proper field equipment, and try to be discreet, she doesn't have a proper SeeD identification card. Seifer, keep an eye on them from a distance and run interference if you see anyone acting suspicious, you never know who is keeping tabs for the Galbadian Government here."

Quistis was stunned by her blond friend's sudden change from jokester to professional. It was as if a switch had been thrown, even if his face was still split with a friendly grin the entire time. Regardless, she felt compelled to follow his orders, as did Seifer who despite himself was always the first to act on Naruto's words. The blonde swordsman was a rough and difficult youth to tame, but that didn't mean he had no sense of respect for those who earned it. After everything they'd talked about, the events during the escape from Dollet, and what happened in Timber, Naruto had earned that respect and more.

Meanwhile, Leon watched with rapt attention as the boy who often caused him migraines was performing like a experienced commander. Leadership was something taught at Balamb during the third or fourth year of training. He'd found the classes difficult to follow, no matter how hard it was to admit it, and subsequently he had performed poorly during teamwork exercises as well. When he envisioned himself leading his team through their mission in Timber, this was exactly how he felt he'd been performing. Judging by the reactions on Zell and Selphie's faces, it was likely he hadn't left a very good impression on them. When he turned back to Naruto he saw the teen looking directly at him, a smile still plastered on his face.

"Yo, Leon, do me a favor and keep these two safe, yeah? They're precious to me." Naruto held out his fist toward him.

Leon stared at the fist for a few moments before relaxing his posture and offering up his own. It was a small gesture really, just two guys bumping fists like any other teenagers, but Leon could feel something more to it. By the time he was done musing to himself about the whole event Naruto was gone and the swordsman was left alone with his team. He turned toward Zell and Selphie and noticed that the two of them were having little success suppressing their longing looks toward the door. He wanted to feel jealous of their devotion to Naruto, but he just couldn't blame the blonde. If he wanted them to look towards him like that he would have to prove he was worth it.

' _Here we go…'_

* * *

Team Alpha, the temporary name for Leon and his support group, had gathered outside the main gate of Galbadia Garden to await the arrival of their newest member. Team Beta, with Rinoa now reverted back to her natural state, was standing off to the side going through their last minute supply checks to pass the time until their scheduled departure. They were set to leave as one before splitting off and heading their separate ways. Leon's patience was wearing pretty thin the longer it took for this mysterious new SeeD Agent to arrive. Pacing had long since lost its appeal, and there were only so many times one could sharpen their sword. Zell was fairing much better than Leon, though his constant shadow boxing only further irritated everyone else. Selphie… well, she had sat down to go over her medical supplies and allegedly the young girl couldn't count inside her head.

Leon snapped when Selphie began a third check of her things, "Okay, where the hell is this clown? We don't have all day to mess around. If we don't leave soon we'll miss our train."

Everyone jumped when they heard a new voice chuckling, "Take it easy there partner, no need to get your panties in a bunch. I had to bid my lovely ladies a fond farewell before heading out, and they were very, very…" The voice paused for a moment and Selphie noticed the newcomer eyeing her up and down, "Well now, I see I've committed a heinous crime. How could I keep such a fetching young woman waiting?"

The stranger was quite possibly the epitome of playboy from the elegant way he spoke to the swagger in his movements. He was dressed as some kind of western gunslinger with a cowboy hat on top of his head, a long brown coat over a purple shirt, brown chaps over black trousers, and a pair of black boots. His ears were pierces with silver earrings that dangled just enough to swing gently with each turn of his head. A long brown ponytail of hair dangled down his back which would flick with a toss of his head. The guy had a smooth smile that would make most weak willed women swoon, and each sound he made was laced with sweet honey. This of course had absolutely no effect on any of them, especially Selphie who could feel his lecherous gaze soaking in her smooth legs and slight curves. Rinoa was lightly hitting her forehead against Naruto's back in an attempt to hinder her memory of his unnecessarily flamboyant entrance.

"And who the hell are you, Mister Cool Rider?" Zell clenched his fists slightly while moving in front of Selphie protectively.

The man laughed heartily while slapping his knee. He then reached behind his back to lightly caress the handle of a very finely crafted rifle, "Why, only beautiful women get the privilege of knowing my name." Brushing by Zell gently he offered a hand to help Selphie back to her feet when she had all of her things packed again, "Irvine Kinneas, Master Marksman of Galbadia Garden, at your service milady."

Naruto had practically teleported to Zell's side in order to hold him back while Selphie gingerly took the offered hand and stood gracefully to her feet. Irvine lifted the hand he'd yet to let loose and had barely brushed his lips across the young girl's knuckles before she yanked her hand away with a huff. The gunner never let his rather pleased smirk fall as he conceded to his loss and turned toward the two wrestling blondes, "Now, now, relax big guy, I like to mess around. Come on, let's make the most of our time together."

Naruto gave Zell a look that promised hell… or worse, intense training, if he refused the peace offering, so begrudgingly he offered his hand toward the gunman who took it eagerly, "Zell Dincht, Martial Arts Specialist."

"A front line man, I like it. I'll be sure to watch your back, just keep your head down, yeah?" Irvine was a perfect mix of irritation and charm, a deadly mix to be sure.

"Irvine Kinneas, you'll be working with my team for the time being. Squall Leonhart, Gunblade Specialist." Leon offered with a simple nod of greeting, his usual stoic indifference plastered on his face.

"Look more like a Leon to me, Partner, but I'll just call you boss." Irvine grinned when he saw the glint of annoyance in his team leader's eyes.

Naruto was quietly examining the rifle that he'd borrowed from Irvine's back. When he checked the ammo the resounding click had Irvine spinning around in alarm, "Whoa there fella, I didn't even feel ya touching my lady there, let alone snatching her off my back. Watch it, you turned off the safety."

The blonde ninja smiled before checking the sights and let out a satisfied hum before offering it back with careful hands, "Naruto Uzumaki, Guardian Enforcer, that baby is a beauty. What kind of damage can that thing do?"

"She's no Long Distance Dolly, but she'll blow a hole through single layer plate armor in one shot. If I use some specialized ammo, well, you'll have to wait and see, hehe." Irvine grinned like Naruto when eyeing particularly delicious ramen, "Now, did you say Guardian Enforcer? Not quite familiar with that specialization…"

Naruto waved it off as if it were no big deal, "It's pretty new. I specialize in utilizing Guardians in combat. I try not to abuse their power, no matter how much they want me to…" Naruto grumbled softly to try and keep Shiva from hearing.

Irvine hummed thoughtfully before giving Naruto the first serious look any of them had seen, "You reckon you have any idea what might have happened to Carbuncle?"

"Carbuncle? Isn't he one of the two Guardians who watch over Galbadia Garden?" Naruto suddenly grew serious, further alarming everyone else who knew that he was rarely ever like this.

Irvine could see the genuine concern and confusion in Naruto's body language and visibly relaxed. Galbadia Garden's SeeD division had been informed of the alleged 'Guardian Enforcer' of Balamb, and the recent disappearance of Carbuncle had raised a lot of red flags, "That he is. While we don't actively use Guardian Forces like you Balamb SeeD, we are kept relatively safe thanks to the watchful eyes of Carbuncle and Cerberus. Cerberus is still around… but he ain't right. And Carbuncle just up and vanished, and that ain't like him to just abandon us like that."

Naruto rubbed his chin while maintaining a thinking pose in order to cover his lack of response, ' _'Anyone listening in?'_

" _ **I'm here, Naruto-kun, what did we miss?"**_ Shiva's voice echoed in his thoughts sweetly almost bringing a smile to his face, though he schooled himself to focus on the serious nature of the situation.

' _Shiva-chan, this new guy here is Irvine Kinneas of Galbadia Garden and he says that Carbuncle has gone missing. Seems pretty recent, and I'm a bit worried this might have something to do with the Wicked Bitch of the West.'_ Naruto couldn't suppress his desire to curse when thinking of the sorceress who had tried to invade his mind.

" _ **I'll talk to Raikiri and the others about it."**_ Shiva had taken a few moments to reply, obviously a bit shaken by this news.

After Shiva went silent Naruto switched back to his verbal conversation, "I haven't seen hide nor hair of Carbuncle recently, and you say Cerberus is acting strangely?"

Irvine crossed his arms and shifted his weight to the right, "Yeah, seems a bit more… aggressive than normal. He ain't no pushover, on the contrary he's pretty fierce when he needs to be, but the old boy is more of a support Guardian. His powers help boost magical focus and casting rates leaving the real damage to whomever he is defending. Recently… he's attacked visitors unprovoked, and he spends hours just watching people. Used to be most of the time you'd never see him, that's how most all Guardians are ya know?"

"So one guardian is behaving uncharacteristically, and another has gone missing… damn this is troublesome. As Guardian Enforcer I would normally leap on something like this, but we can't abandon our missions. As soon as we're finished in Deling City I'll come back to Galbadia Garden and help however I can." Naruto held out his hand toward Irvine to seal his promise to his fellow SeeD.

Irvine stood looking down at the offered hand with a bit of skepticism. The atmosphere in Galbadia was, for lack of a better term, tense. There was no dog eat dog, it was more like snake eat snake, and no one was looking out to help anyone else. Because of that Irvine had created a lone wolf persona to protect himself from any and all threats from his fellow SeeD looking to gain enough favor for a promotion. This lack of camaraderie had left him rather depressed and lonely, but it was for the best. He dreamed of the days before the Garden life had taken his innocence, before he'd lost his small family. Now, he had to make a choice. Would he refuse to believe the promise that this blonde foreigner had made and keep up his loner façade? Or…

Naruto was just about to pull his hand back feeling the awkward silence had lasted long enough, but was pleasantly surprised to feel a firm grip take not only his hand, but his entire forearm. Intense cerulean blue met a dull, almost greenish blue that twinkled with a previously absent hint of true mirth, "I'll hold you to that, partner. And you can count on me to watch your back and keep your butt alive until then."

After a moment the two parted before sharing a hearty laugh that made most everyone else shake their heads at the odd exchange. Leon chose this time to gather everyone's attention, "All right people, we all have our mission assignments. Team Alpha with me, we need to get a move on before the last train leaves and we miss our window. Naruto, keep safe and don't mess around out there, we'll have everything set up by the time you arrive."

"Sure thing darky-san, come on Team Beta."

* * *

The first day of travel flew by relatively fast for Naruto and his team. Keeping under the radar meant they would be moving as quickly as possible through the grassy plains of Galbadia to avoid most of the traffic on the main road, both military and civilian alike. Quistis had proven to be a valuable asset to the team thanks to her familiarity with the region as well as her thorough training in navigation and cartography. Thanks to her watchful eyes, detailed maps, and understanding of geography they'd been able to avoid areas heavily infested with monsters while keeping good time en route to their target location. Seifer took to the rough hiking like a fish to water, reveling in the challenge of the wild and the promise of the unknown. Never one for actually following the rules that he enforced, he seemed to glow with excitement knowing they they were traveling with a known fugitive.

Rinoa was the only one among them who felt truly challenged by the whole thing. Having trained primarily in urban combat situations while working in Timber, she was ill prepared for the rigors of the wild. As expected, she found the monsters in their path intimidating, but to her credit she never backed down from a fight. She was able to maintain a back line in their formations with the use of her Blaster Edge, as well as a multitude of spells that she could cast with her minimal understanding of the art. During breaks in their travel she spent that time meditating with Naruto to help with her magical abilities, or speaking with Seifer to keep the blonde from brooding or losing his temper due to boredom. She could tell that he found the frequent stopping irritating, and she knew that they were stopping for her benefit, so she chose to act as a way of repaying their unspoken kindness. The hopeful looks he kept giving her whenever they were away from their teammates though were… a little bothersome.

Unknown to the rest of his team, Naruto had spent a majority of their time on auto-pilot. He'd spoken next to nothing the entire day, at least out loud. In reality he'd been with Shiva in the privacy of his mind exchanging idle bits of nonsense off and on. Shiva had specifically avoided speaking about Carbuncle and while Naruto had noticed this he didn't press her for any information. If anything, he knew that she was worried for her younger siblings like any one would be. He only wished he could go back and investigate further, but for now he settled for helping keep her mind away from such troubles. Besides, it was an excuse to keep her all to himself, and that was a win-win for the both of them.

As night fell the team stopped to make camp under the beautiful night sky, the full moon above shining brightly over the almost eerily quiet landscape. Naruto had used a bit of Earth Magical Essence to flatten out a small area of land for their tents. This little stunt left Quistis gaping while Seifer muttered something about pricks that show off, but Naruto didn't let either reaction bother him. He knew it wasn't wise to waste his magical essence on such mundane tasks, but Earth had never been his forte, so the practice was well worth the wasted essence. After their tents had been set and a fire was built they prepared a light dinner with very basic rations Quistis and Rinoa had picked up back at Galbadia Garden.

Seifer tossed his dishes into the small pile that had accumulated during their little meal before standing up, "As much fun as it is to stare quietly at each other, I am off to bed. Wake me when it's time for my watch." The teen took off his long coat before tossing it over his shoulder and walking over to his tent that had been set up beside Naruto's.

"I'll take first watch, you two get some sleep. You'll be up next, Senpai, and you'll be after Seifer Rinnie-chan." Naruto held a single hand seal for a moment before three copies of himself appeared. With a quick glance each of them knew their roles and scattered into the night.

Rinoa had already stumbled into her tent yawning and offering a small wave to her big brother. Quistis took note of his odd cloning ability and decided to stall her sleep for a few minutes longer, "Naruto, what's with the copies?"

He smiled as he assembled the dirty dishes in a neat pile, "They'll form an outer perimeter to keep watch over the area. If one of them disperses I'll know and I will react accordingly. It might be a bit much, but it's worth it to keep my team safe."

Quistis couldn't help but smile at his response, "You're really taking this new leadership role seriously, huh? I can't say I'm not impressed." Quistis couldn't help a playful wink to try and tease him.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head while chuckling, "Yeah I guess I am huh…? Well, back where I came from I was able to take this promotional exam, sort of like the one we did for SeeD. It was called the Chuunin Exams, and despite the fact that I acted like a total idiot back then… I really wanted that promotion. Becoming a Chuunin meant that you were recognized as someone who could lead your fellow ninja, someone they could trust. It wasn't about being stronger or smarter. It was about being responsible for others and making the tough decisions. I know it's technically not a promotion to be made leader of Team Beta, but Headmaster Cid trusts me to keep you guys safe and complete the mission and it feels really good, ya know? I want to prove he put that trust in the right person."

Quistis stood up before walking over to him and placing her hand on his shoulder. He looked up into her bright blue eyes and she smiled warmly, "You're doing a fine job so far, trust me. Cid will be proud too, I guarantee it. And never, ever think that you are overdoing it when it comes to being a good leader and a good teammate. Every step taken to ensure that your team is safe and successful is worth it." She then walked off toward her tent, but just before she ducked inside she glanced over her shoulder, "Just don't let the power go to your head, or I'll have to practice my whip combinations on you."

Naruto could only chuckle a little nervously after she vanished into her tent. With the slightly scary ex-instructor gone off to bed he decided to give the dirty dishes a proper cleaning in a small river they'd passed while searching for a good camping location. The walk was peaceful and he could only wonder why all of the monsters in the fields seemed to have gone docile. It made more sense for the hostile predators to be lurking at night for unsuspecting prey, but honestly he was glad the buggers weren't around. The river formed an 'S' shaped bend across the plains that went off beyond his sight in both directions. Naruto knelt down by the edge and made quick work of the dirty dishes, taking only ten minutes to be sure they were washed thoroughly. With his primary task complete he stood to leave, but then his eyes lingered on the clean water below.

' _Hmm… should I? The clones will alert me if any danger comes near the camp… and I haven't bathed since… yeah, I need this.'_ Naruto punctuated his thoughts with a nod before stripping out of his clothes in the relative privacy of some nearby tall grass.

The blonde put his clothes into a neat bundle that he placed close to the river incase something or someone decided to try and steal them he'd catch them in the act. The cool night air brushed against his skin giving his goose bumps, though his core temperature kept him from getting cold. He was just about to leap into the river when he stopped and looked down at the pair of fox print boxer shorts he'd kept on to preserve his modesty. On the one hand if he kept them on he'd be safe from embarrassment if anyone dropped by undetected. On the opposing hand he would suffer soggy shorts until he could get back to his pack and exchange them, which would mean walking into camp half naked so he wouldn't ruin his pants.

' _What if Quistis or Rinoa show up? I don't want them to see that… but I shouldn't be ashamed, right? Or should I? I wouldn't be the one being a pervert if they peeped on me, right? That old pervert would get savagely beaten if a woman saw him like this though… of course that's because he would immediately ask them for their opinion… oh to hell with it! I am a shinobi for Kami sake! If I can kill people, I can be naked in a river!"_

Naruto turned slowly to scan his surroundings several times to be sure that he was indeed alone. With a nod he gave his last shred of security a swift tug before said offending garment dropped to his feet. Giving no time for fate to intervene and send someone his way he leapt into the river with a small yelp when his warm body met the cold water. It wasn't freezing cold, and it was no onsen either, but regardless of the temperature it felt good to freshen up. He made quick work of scrubbing away whatever grime he could before simply relaxing in the gentle ebb and flow of the river, careful to keep himself from drifting with the flow. With his body floating near the surface he let his eyes close before sighing deeply.

"I'm glad things have slowed down… at least for a few days." He mumbled while absently thinking about everything that had happened since the day of the exam. Every day had been packed full of activity with hardly any time to sleep, let alone kick back and just laze about. It reminded him of the lazy boy he'd known back in Konoha who hardly did anything else besides cloud gaze, "He'd have found this whole thing troublesome…"

"Who would have?" A soft whisper touched his left ear that left a small haze drifting through the air.

Naruto answered back completely oblivious as his mind delved into nostalgia, "Someone from Konoha, a pretty lazy guy, though he wasn't much of a slouch when he set his mind to task."

The voice giggled a little in his ear making his spine tingle a little, "Sounds like your opposite. Were you friends?"

"Not really, I kept away from most….every…one…" Naruto's voice trailed off as sudden realization struck him. His eyes shot open before he spun around to face his unknown bathing companion, only for his eyes to bug out, "S-s-shiva-chan!?"

Sure enough floating only two narrow feet away from him was the beautiful ice queen herself. From what he could tell she had assumed a form that helped suppress her power so that she appeared more human, though her unnaturally blue hair and bright icy eyes spoke of the raging magic within. She was shoulder deep in the water, though her hair was slicked down showing that she had dunked beneath the surface at least once, and very recently if her dripping fringe and chin were any indication. The Guardian was sporting a very playful smirk that left Naruto feeling very self conscious. At closer inspection he could see that her shoulders were bare, and that only served to increase his discomfort. He hoped beyond hope that she was simply wearing something that was hitherto unseen, but that damn smirk she had on her puffy little lips hinted otherwise.

"I had no idea that you could be so bold, _Naruto-kun_." She spoke in a soft voice that was barely a whisper, and yet it still left Naruto feeling a slight chill.

Regaining his bearings enough to stop from stuttering Naruto held his gaze locked on her eyes, "What do you mean?"

"Playing coy while your unmentionables are sitting over there on display?" Shiva teased while loosing a soft giggle behind her hand.

Naruto opened his mouth and quickly shut it several times while his face displayed several different shades of red. Finally he settled on something between tomato and ruby red while he huffed trying to sound more indignant than embarrassed, "I didn't think anyone was nearby and I needed a bath. How did you get here anyway, Shiva-chan? I didn't summon you, and I know darn well the others can't supply enough juice for this form." Naruto's eyes narrowed suspiciously, and for a moment he worried this was some kind of prank or trap.

Shiva swam closer toward him, the water around her body growing colder but not freezing, "You think you have such control over me that I can't go where I please without your say so?"

Naruto shivered, though less from the temperature drop and more from the proximity of the icy beauty before him. He subconsciously swam backwards to try and keep his safe zone intact, "N-no, Shiva-chan, of course not. I just didn't know you could summon yourself wherever you like, and I figured you would be busy since we haven't spoken in the last hour."

Shiva smiled as she watched the helpless little teen try to escape her, and only pressed her advance toward him, "Well, I did have to borrow a little of your magical essence to manifest here, but I only took what I needed for this form. I… I hope you aren't angry with me, _Naruto-kun_ …" Her voice took on a cute, mock guilty tone as she bowed her head forward a little forcing her eyes to look up in order to focus on his. As she spoke she moved ever closer to him with her shoulders sauntering slowly, her smooth skin glistening in the moonlight reflected off the multitudinous drops of water.

Naruto found himself hard pressed to keep his eyes locked on her face. Not to say that her cute lips, dazzling eyes, round cheeks and teasingly wet hair weren't an eyeful, but as she grew closer certain shapes became noticeable in the moonlit water. His teenage hormones were beckoning, _demanding_ that he look down and sate his curiosity. Meanwhile, his ingrained fear of pervert bashing held him back firmly. As his mind raced he was unaware of his impending doom, though reality came crashing down when his back met something solid and immovable. Chancing a glance over his shoulder to break from the mesmerizing spell of her eyes he felt his hope crumble. He'd back right up into a rock that had gone unnoticed before due to the darkness of the river water.

Naruto turned to face Shiva again only to have his breath catch in his throat. In his haste to ascertain his situation he'd neglected to remember that Shiva was advancing on him like a hungry predator. With his focus back on the snow deity he found her bright eyes inches away from his own. Despite his attempts to ignore it, there was no way he didn't notice her body almost touching his own. In an act befitting his usual charm, he chuckled lightly while grinning like a fox in an attempt to cover how shocked and timid he was feeling.

"Heh… snuck up on me there… didn't ya?" Naruto's breath steamed the cool air surrounding the queen in front of him.

Shiva brought up a hand and placed the palm against his chest so that her fingers could dance across the firm muscles there. The sensation made him shiver, once again not entirely the fault of her natural cold aura. The sight of the usually cool and confident warrior falling to near putty under her touch brought a sense of satisfaction to Shiva and she held no shame in displaying her pleasure with a victorious little half smirk, "So big and strong… are all your muscles this…" She let the sentence dangle to see the reaction she'd get from him.

Naruto's mind nearly went blank as he spluttered out several inaudible words that sounded vaguely like, "I...don't…what….urk?" In his dazed state he grabbed on to anything that he could reach in order to regain his composure. Sadly, or wonderfully depending on who you ask, the fool grabbed onto a pair of very shapely hips.

Shiva's eyes went wide as she felt the strong grip on her bare hips and before she could react he had pulled her into his chest. For her the warmth of his solid body pressed so tightly against hers was invigorating, scandalous, exciting… wonderful. She wound her arms around his back to cling on, never wanting to let go even as her cheeks flared up into a deep violet. She could feel everything… _everything…_ She couldn't help a timid cry escaping her lips that came out far more sensually than she had meant it to, " _Naruto-kun~!"_

* * *

Back at the campsite the three clones that Naruto had formed to make a perimeter were standing close to the fire to warm up. While it wasn't freezing out, the breeze brought with it a chill that threatened the stability of their temporary bodies. Beside the tent their boss had pitched for after his watch lay a small pile of discarded clothes that were left behind by Shiva when the mischievous ice vixen had appeared and quickly shed them in order to surprise their boss. They'd seen the entire thing, and one of them had even helped point her in the right direction, unknowingly sealing his creator's fate. Currently, each clone was seated in a triangular formation around the slowly dying fire listening for any trouble.

"You think the boss is okay?" One of the clones spoke with a hint of worry.

Another scoffed while poking the fire with a stick to rekindle a few embers, "Of course, man, come on. This is us we're talking about, we can handle anything."

The clone who had sent Shiva off toward their boss shuffled a bit on his bottom anxiously, "We've never been real good with women… and a naked one is out there right now."

Being solid, conscious copies of their creator gave each of them a thorough understanding of Naruto. So, of course each of them blushed heavily while considering what might be going on. The first clone to speak stood up and looked at his fellows with determination, "He's right, this is us we're talking about. We can handle a beautiful woman-"

Just as his inspirational, Naruto styled speech had began to pick up each of them nearly leapt out of their skin as the anguished cry of a young man suffering a particularly nasty nosebleed echoed across the plains. They exchanged worried looks before quickly dashing off to their designated positions to continue their watch. None of them wanted to be near the camp when their boss returned lest they suffer his wrath for not sending him prior warning.

* * *

 **Here we are, one more down. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. It's a warm up for the chapters to come, so if you are disappointed in the lack of action be ready. Veteran players of FFVIII will know that I've changed up a little from canon, but I hope that it won't irk you all too much.**

 **Also, to be sure that everything is clear, nothing happened at the river. Shiva was indulging herself and having a bit of fun teasing Naruto away from Siren's interference, but she had no intentions of doing** _ **that**_ **. And we all know that true Naruto is far too noble to give into base lust with a woman that he has strong affections for, no matter how compromising the situation, or how willing said woman might actually be should he make a move. Well, at least until both parties are fully prepared, ne?**


	18. Chapter 18

**Howdy there y'all, Garnetio Solozari here with another installment of Guardian Enforcer, wooo~! Thankfully my recent creative inspirations have yet to cease, and you can all thank A League of His Own for that. (shameless self advertising ploy is shameless indeed :x ) Those of you who have just joined us, I bid thee welcome. To those who have stuck around through my drivel from day one, have you not gone to the Garnetiolics Anonymous meetings yet? Any who, I'm talking too much, onward my stalwart senpais!**

 **This chapter introduces two new faces to the all ready odd cast of misfits Naruto has to deal with. I've taken a unique path with them that I hope you'll find chuckle worthy. They are not OC, and technically there isn't really much to go on to categorize them as OOC, so just read on and find out damn you! Also, I have decided that, if I can handle it… the next chapter will be dedicated to fluffiness to make up for my promises of fluff last chapter and the subsequent disappointment that was expressed in one of my reviews. (I get so few that when I get one with legitimate complaints or concerns I take them to heart!)**

 **Aside: As some of you may know, we are coming dangerously close to the end of the first disc (dear god games actually had multiple discs back then? Yes, children, they did, and it was exciting :P)! With that in mind, I would love some suggestions for something special to add to the final chapter of Disc One. Anything goes, though there's no guarantee any given idea will be used.**

 **~`Link Start'~**

"Ya know, after the last time we all stood staring at a new place, this is a bit underwhelming." Naruto grumbled under his breath while eyeing an old dilapidated stone structure built into the side of a large hill.

The structure reminded him of the burial tombs he'd seen in books about ancient emperors in the Balamb Garden library, though on a much smaller scale. A short stone path with cracked and faded tiles wound through what used to be imposing columns before they'd eventually fallen with time. A set of stairs led up into a large portal that couldn't have been built to cater to the average human. A small section of the path was built over an aqueduct, most likely for aesthetics rather than irrigation. He knew for certain that the underground would be nothing but a mess of corridors going every which way. There didn't seem to be much evidence of foot traffic in the area, though he did spot what might be one set of foot prints heading in, but not back out. That sent up a few red flags, and he knew for certain that Quistis and Seifer had noticed it too judging by their slightly tensed postures. Rinoa on the other hand had little training in tracking, so she idly stood by his side eyeing the imposing sights with wonder.

Naruto stepped forward before turning to face the team with a straightened, tight posture, "Everyone line up, time for your briefing."

Much to his amusement he got three unique reactions to his announcement. Seifer visibly slumped before stepping up in a loose attentive pose. Quistis was all professional, going so far as to lightly click her heels, though the tiny smirk on her face was evidence that she had purposely done so to tease him. Rinoa, having limited experience being on the receiving end of orders, stumbled a little before standing at attention with her chest puffed up a little more than she ought to have. Clearing his throat to cover up the chuckle threatening to escape his lips he put on a passive expression while folding his arms behind his back.

"Our mission had two parts, the second being optional due to the circumstances revolving our team composition. The first and most important part of this mission is to locate and secure a gunblade from within this tomb. Yes, this is a tomb, though you can rest easy knowing that this particular tomb houses only a single deceased, so the chance of encountering undead enemies is very slim. The purpose of the gunblade is to secure a numeric pass code which will grant us access to our new client in Deling City. While unorthodox, this mission is simply a test of will, something to prove we have what it takes to face our true task later on. Alpha team is depending on us to succeed here, and I for one will not stand for any screw ups.

Our goal is likely not very far in, but regardless I want our team to stay as a single unit. Seifer, I want you taking the lead with your gunblade ready to defend. I want no renegade bullshit in there, got it?" Receiving a nod he turned to face Rinoa, "Rinoa, you'll be taking up the third position behind me and Seifer. While your range is the longest among us, chances of enemy monsters ambushing from the rear is too great to take any unnecessary risks. No matter what, I want you behind someone at all times unless specifically ordered into another position during combat." The young girl gave a firm nod, not wanting to put up a fuss while her pseudo brother was behaving so seriously, "Quistis, you're elite skills will put you at the rear behind Rinoa. With your balance of mid ranged physical combat and advanced magical proficiency you'll easily be able to provide assistance to the front while maintaining a strong back line in case we need to pull back."

Quistis was impressed by his assessment of their individual skills and how best to implement them into a team dynamic for the situation at hand. She could tell the others were impressed as well, even awed in Rinoa's case considering the stars that seemed to have formed in the young girl's eyes. Seifer snapped out of his momentary lapse to voice a question to their current team leader, "Naruto, you didn't mention the second optional objective. We going to take it on?"

"Nice observation there Seifer. I wanted to stress the importance of team work and the severity of the primary objective before settling into the secondary objective. While it is listed as optional, there is absolutely no avoiding this task. Before I tell you the details I want it to be made very clear that none of you are required to participate in this task with me. Should you find the challenge too daunting, I will not hold a grudge against you should you desire to return to the surface." Naruto looked each of his teammates in the eyes while giving them all a chance to opt out on the spot.

Seeing no signs of fear or hesitation on any of their faces he pushed forward with the briefing, "The secondary objective is listed as an investigative exploration. There are rumors of rowdy Guardians taking up residence here and terrorizing local Garden students who come here to train against the higher level monsters that wander the halls. Information gathered is sketchy, but the most consistent stories mention an Earth element, impressive tag-team tactics, and overwhelming area effect spell casting. Again, should any of you choose to bail out I will escort you to the surface before proceeding with the mission."

Quistis rubbed her chin in thought for a moment before snapping her fingers, "If the Guardians are using area earth spells it is likely a large scale Quake spell. The use of the Float spell will negate the effects and keep us out of range of the damage."

Naruto hummed a bit before pacing back and forth in front of the team, "I don't have any experience fighting while using Float. Do you have enough essence to demonstrate for us?"

Quistis performed a quick check using her Junction Watch before giving a nod, "I have plenty, Float is a spell I rarely need in the field, let alone during my time in the class room."

"All right, hit me with your best shot!" Naruto called out after leaping clear of the others and spreading his arms wide.

Rinoa looked a bit wary, "Are you sure this is a good idea…?"

"Better to experience it here than in there in the middle of a fight. Come on senpai, Float me!" Naruto couldn't suppress his rather goofy grin as he anticipated flying through the air.

Quistis shook her head at his antics while silently wondering how she'd found someone like him impressive only moments ago, "Okay, just be ready for the effect to take immediately. The air currents around you will pick you up and the slightest movement will have you whisking off if you're not careful."

Naruto let his body relax slowly as he prepared for the spell to strike. He watched Quistis gather her spell and took a moment to appreciate how graceful her movements were. It was clear that she'd spent a great deal of time perfecting her magical techniques. When the spell hit him, his stomach lurched for only a moment before he felt his feet lift off the ground. Resisting an undignified scream of surprise he settled for whooping and waving his arms around a bit, "Whoa baby… this is freaking weird. So right… if I want to move forward, I just lean… and… ahck!" Naruto's attempt to move served to flip him forward rapidly before his face slammed into the ground.

Silence. There was nothing but a resounding silence echoing across the plains. And then, from the unlikeliest of places, boisterous laughter filled the air. Everyone turned to face Seifer whose tough guy façade had shatter like so many shards of glass. The teen was currently on his back, his arms clasped around his midriff, his legs kicking in the air in childish glee. Unlike his usual deep and rough chuckles, this laugh was loud and light like that of a child. Rinoa found the whole thing disturbing, considering how his rough and gruff extrerior had always been what she found attractive. Quistis, well, she found the sight incredibly amusing and pulled out a small digital camera to snap a few pics for later use.

Naruto gripped the grass below him in order to crawl slowly to a position where his legs were floating in the air behind him, "Okay… new plan… no… floating…"

Quistis was trying and failing at her attempt to keep from quirking a smirk, her hands turning to snap pictures of Naruto's unfortunate predicament, "R-right, Naruto, that would be best… we aren't prepared for… such tactics."

"I'm never living this down, am I?" Naruto held a blank stare as his eyes focused on the small camera.

Rinoa chirped in at this point while openly grinning, "Oh, heavens no."

Naruto was about to retort when his lower half suddenly dropped like a rock causing him to gurgle out a pained groan and subsequently move his hands to his groin, "That… that was unpleasant."

Seifer had managed to regain some of his composure and move to his hands and knees, left hand gripping the grass tightly while his right hammered a fist down to the ground every few moments, "Oh God… when Raijin hears… oh sweet justice…"

"Naruto, Seifer, get a grip we need to move things along before it gets too late in the day." Quistis put her camera away before walking over to Naruto and helping him to his feet, careful not to jostle him too much.

"Hai, hai… just let me take stock… one… two… three… okay, I'm good." Naruto gave a small huff to catch his breath before turning to face the tomb entrance, "Okay team, let's go."

 **~Scene Shift~**

As one would expect the tomb was cold and damp, but the architecture was rather impressive. The seemingly endless corridors were all built with a lightly colored stone and there was an odd light that permeated the area without any obvious source. On either side of the corridors were small trenches that allowed a steady flow of water to accent the foot paths. The occasional touch of moss or vines growing through small cracks gave the whole place a very exotic feel. The general atmosphere served to excite the adventurer in each of them, easily helping to ease their apprehension so that they could somewhat enjoy their first official mission as Team Beta.

In terms of monsters the place was practically crawling with the things. There were Buel, the horrid flying bat monstrosities that had infested the Fire Cavern back on Balamb. While spells were ineffective, Rinoa stole the show using her long ranged weapon to great effect. The Armadodo, thick skinned little creatures that with several similarities to rodents, were a tougher cookie to crack. Seifer found out the hard way that his melee skills were particularly useless against their natural armor. Thankfully, Quistis performed excellently with her spell casting to eliminate their threat as quickly as they came. The true pain in the ass had been these gelatinous monsters called Blobra. While not that offensively destructive, their defense against physical attacks made them a real chore to clear away. The only real problem had been their tricky affinities. Each one was aligned with one element or another, so liberal use of the Scan spell had been implemented by Rinoa to help support the team, making her a bit of an MVP during the mission.

Naruto directed their team through the underground complex slowly to mentally map out every detail to the best of his ability. He didn't want to waste valuable magic essence on Shadow Clones in case they ran into either of the Guardians lurking the halls. Quistis had offered her advice by instructing the team to hug the right wall, effectively ensuring their team would never truly get lost. With time it became clear that the tomb was limited, greatly so, the only navigational pitfall was the eerily similar corridors making you doubt your decisions. Naruto found the whole thing mildly irritating since navigation had never been one of his fortes, but again Quistis proved to be an incredible asset helping to council him on where they should turn and how far they should go down any given corridor.

"Remind me to never ever let Leon snipe you for his team, Senpai." Naruto whispered to her while the four of them stood at an intersection closer to the center of the complex.

Quistis smiled warmly with only a hint of pink dusting her cheeks, "We'll have to see how that goes. If I'm assigned to him or anyone else there isn't much that can be done."

Naruto gave her a quick wink while wearing his traditional foxy grin, "I'll just have to snatch you up when no one is looking."

In order to hide her embarrassment, and also distract from the brighter blush on her cheeks, she proceeded to bop him on the head with her whip handle before walking over to Rinoa. Naruto chuckled lightheartedly before turning and looking further into the tunnels leading toward what he knew was the center of the tunnel system. Seifer, having grown a bit antsy, came running from further down the tunnel at a relaxed pace.

Seifer huffed once to regain his breath before looking at Naruto, "I was just scouting down by he next intersection and I saw what might be the gunblade we're looking for."

Naruto hummed softly, mimicking the sound he remembered his old sensei used to make whenever he had taken unwarranted initiative, "Well Seifer, while you didn't follow the team protocol by wandering off alone, I'm impressed you found the restraint to come back and report instead of investigating alone. Well done."

Seifer wore a bemused expression, which for intents and purposes was his default, while Naruto walked by him toward the others. Inwardly, the blonde swordsman felt good being praised by someone rather than the usual berating he would receive from other SeeD during his many attempts in the past to pass his exams. The positive reinforcement made him want to perform even better, even if obeying the rules and sticking to protocol gave him indigestion. He'd never be a perfect little soldier like most SeeD expected him to be, but he'd be the best he could be while working with Naruto… he didn't know why, but his fellow blonde made him want to succeed. With that final thought he put on a bit of extra speed to catch up with Naruto and rejoin the girls.

Naruto had already sidled up to the women and crossed his arms over his chest, "Listen up everyone, we're getting closer to the heart of this nest. So far the monsters have been a piece of cake, but that doesn't mean we can get comfortable. I'm changing up the dynamic now, so listen up." Naruto watched everyone straighten up a bit more and it made him swell with pride. He adopted an indifferent façade to impress upon them his seriousness, "Same formation as before, Seifer up front, Rinoa behind me, Quistis in back. Rinoa, due to your lack of endurance I want you to focus on Scan spells and keeping us informed of their strengths and weaknesses. There are likely only higher level versions of the others we've faced, so just use Scan on the jello freaks. Between Scans, pop a few potions on us. If you need more, don't hesitate to ask, and if in battle just make it clear that someone else needs to heal for a few rounds. Do not engage the enemy with spells or weapon fire unless absolutely necessary, understood?"

Rinoa nodded rapidly understanding that her role was the only one to change. While she was disappointed to be delegated to support work, she understood the importance of her role and would not let Naruto down. Once again Quistis was impressed with how Naruto handled the team and left no room for argument with his orders. She'd always been a good leader when the time came for her to step up, but she'd preferred to follow so that she could focus on her individual skills in the field instead of multiple skill sets and how to implement them effectively. Naruto seemed a natural at this, and she'd be sure to inform Cid as soon as possible. Maybe she could secure a permanent position with him?

After several more minutes of well deserved rest the team regrouped and ventured further into the complex. As Seifer had informed him, there was indeed a gunblade sitting in the middle of the path wrapped in ragged cloth. While the team kept watch Naruto knelt by the abandoned weapon and searched the area for anything suspicious. He hit payday when he found an old identification badge, not unlike his own SeeD ID, secured to the handle of the gunblade. Instead of the standard card, a laminated plastic card with a single number printed on the face was all he found. Ironic, or perhaps serendipitous, the number on the badge read "No. 009" and he couldn't help but laugh. When he noticed the odd looks from his team he flashed the card toward them before pocketing it.

"Nine, I don't know why, but I seem to run into that number way more often than I'd like to admit." He could hear the whisper of a laugh echoing in the back of his head.

Rinoa piped in with a childish glint in her eye, "At least it isn't thirteen." She gave a cute little raspberry when Naruto rolled his eyes at her.

"I swear, the two of you are just the epitome of mature." Quistis giggled behind her hand at the set of pouts she received for her comment.

Seifer crossed his arms while shutting his eyes, "You haven't seen anything yet. This one time-"

Rinoa launched herself at Seifer and placed a palm over his mouth while flashing a glare at him, "Shush, we never speak of it."

Naruto chuckled at the questioning look Quistis gave him, "You don't want to know. Trust me, I was a part of it, and I didn't even want to know."

" **You humans are very noisy! Brother is going to be angry!"** The very walls shook and dust fell from the ceiling as the booming voice echoed around them.

Naruto turned toward the hall ahead of them and his eyes bugged out almost comically. Standing, or really it would be better to describe as hulking, a dozen meters away from them, was a huge bovine beast standing up on its hind legs and holding a large steel rod tipped with a spiked ball of death. The beast wore a thick coat of deep violet fur over his entire form, a thick set of armor protecting his abdomen and groin, a pauldron protecting his left shoulder, and a large shield strapped to his left forearm with markings that were eerily reminiscent of the kanji for Otouto. While menacing enough as it was, Naruto gave an involuntary shiver at the thought that this beast was the _younger_ brother of a set.

Seifer took up position in front just in time to block a vicious swing of that spiked weapon, and as wound be expected he was sent skidding several feet to the right from the brute force of the blow. Naruto sucked his teeth and drew out his gundaggers before dashing forward and under the beast's guard to land a heavy blow to his leg. The giant roared in pain before giving the floor a heavy stomp which caused the entire team to stagger a bit. Rinoa and Quistis recovered quickly enough to dodge left and right respectively to avoid a nasty downward swing, the weapon slamming the ground and cracking the tiles.

Naruto readied a fire spell and sent it blazing into the back of the imposing monstrosity, "Over here, you overgrown steak!"

The spell hardly warmed the thick armor the beast was wearing, though the taunt had the desired effect of royally pissing off the monster and causing it to focus on him, **"Puny little man… you will regret your words."**

"Sure buddy, sure… Rinoa, a Scan would be apprecia- whoa!" Naruto rolled out of the way of a sudden strike that would have probably given him a few interesting scars before ducking and weaving between surprisingly quick attacks.

Seifer kept up a tight guard in front of Rinow while Quistis held her position in the rear, though she was growing less and less comfortable watching the exchange between man and beast. Rinoa was working quickly to form the Scan spell while trying to get a clear link with whatever had attacked them. It took longer than she would have liked considering how large the thing was, but it was damn fast. When the information sank in she gasped and ran forward passed Seifer making the swordsman curse, though her next words set him rushing forward as well.

"He's a Guardian!" Rinoa called before sending her blade through the air to slash at the exposed right arm of the beast.

" **Grrr, little humans are… too… noisy!"** The Guardian gave another stomp that defied physics and sent a rippling wave through the ground which sent the team sprawling on the floor.

Seifer used his sudden trip to his advantage and let his body slide along the floor until he slipped under the guard of the monster. Much like Naruto had moments ago he was able to land a solid cut on the thing's leg before rolling back onto his feet to avoid an angry, albeit underpowered, stomp from a heavy hoof. Quistis joined the fight by sending a slightly overpowered Aero spell directly into the beast's stomach. Regardless of the thick armor, this one burst of magic had a devastating effect on him, and even sent the Guardian back several yards. Naruto gave a small cheer as he nodded to Quistis, though their celebration was cut short as they heard the monster breathing in heavy, angry pants.

The purple bovine rose to his full height and all of his wounds healed before their eyes as visible magical essence crawled up from the floor to wrap around his body in a green pulsing flash. Instead of grinning or gloating as most villains are wont to do, they could see his eyes glistening with unshed tears.

" **You don't play fair… big bro is gonna tear you to pieces! Big bro~!"** The beast turned tail and ran into the darkness of the tunnels toward the central chambers of he complex.

"…The fuck did I just see?" Naruto stared blankly at the dust trail left behind by the enormous monster.

Quistis slowly let her body relax, though she remained alert, "That… was definitely odd…"

"I feel kind of bad… we made him cry." Rinoa chimed in before shrinking back from the three blank looks she got, "What? So I have a heart, sue me!"

"That thing tried to kill us." Seifer spoke in a flat tone while rubbing his eyes in a frustrated manner.

"Okay before this devolves into an argument we need to focus. If that was one of the Guardians here, and the other is supposedly a big brother, I do not want those two working together. I'm going to handle this older brother personally with a little assistance, so you three focus on the younger one." Naruto gave no room for disagreement and received three reluctant nods.

A loud roar echoed from further in the depths of the tomb and reminded the team exactly where they were. Naruto gave a determined nod before taking the lead this time and dashing down the corridor. It wasn't long before his team came to an area near the center of the tomb and they found a large, ornate room with an ancient sarcophagus set into the center of the chamber. With weapons drawn they crept into the crypt with slow, cautious steps. The entire place was far too quiet, and Naruto's danger senses were screaming at him to get the hell out of there. Behind him the team had taken to a diamond formation with Rinoa and Seifer taking up the left and right positions, and Quistis in back. Thanks to this happy coincidence the four of them were easily able to dodge in the four cardinal directions when the large beast from before came crashing down in their midst.

" **Big bro, here they are! I told ya they ganged up on me!"**

Naruto heard the echoes of bovine nostrils flaring and puffing out heavy grunts. The sound bounced off the walls around them, yet he couldn't find the source to save his life. And then he heard a set of heavy hooves slam into the floor behind the sarcophagus. Naruto had turned to face the beast that had fallen between him and his team so he was forced to spin around to address what he assumed would be the larger threat. He searched the area looking around near the ceiling for the no doubt menacing scowl that was sure to haunt his nightmares. He searched… and searched… and searched some more before his eyes drifted down… down…down… And that was about the time he felt a hoof slam into his shin which nearly broke the bone from the power behind it. While Naruto had to bite back a few choice curses the entire team was drawn to a little voice that, while dripping with fury, wasn't exactly the most terrifying thing they'd ever heard.

"You guys are gonna pay for what you did to Sacred, puny little humans!"

Naruto stood staring down at a chibi version of the larger beast behind him. The tiny little thing was a carbon copy, save for a few minor, no pun intended, details. The fur color, armor, and overall species were the same. The main differences were the size, obviously, the color of their horns and tails, and their shields. This mini-bovine had yellowish colored horns with a tail tipped in a red point, while his larger counterpart had the opposite color scheme. The little shield carried by the tiny one held the Kanji for Ani, signifying him as the elder brother that they'd been lead to believe would herald their doom. Naruto leant over with his hands on his hips and gave the little turd a narrow eyed glare.

"Oi, pipsqueak, what's the big idea kicking my shin?!" Naruto had lost his patience with the two goofy Guardians' antics, and he had only just met them.

Sacred, who was currently staring down the three humans closest to him, stiffened before slowly backing away from Naruto's form, _**'Oh fudge brownies…'**_

"You… what did you just call me… you little shit for brains?!"Mini-cow had anything but a mini-cow while flailing around his smaller, yet still deadly version of his younger brother's weapon.

' _I feel like there's a certain redhead in hell smiling like mad about now…'_ Naruto leant over even closer until he could feel the heated puffs of air that the little fella was spewing from his snout, "I called you pipsqueak. What? You prefer shrimp? Tiny? Small fry? Chibi-cow?"

"My name… is Minotaur… you yellow haired little… son of a…" Minotaur couldn't control his fury as his little hands were cracking the metal of his weapon.

"Oh, Minitaur! Perfect!" Naruto loosed a small celebratory cheer that left even his own team wondering if he'd lost his mind.

Sacred sighed before steeling himself for the coming fight, but he was stunned when he heard his brother call out to him, "Little bro, you stay put and fight those quiet ones… I want this maggot." Sacred gave his brother a nod before stomping a hoof to stagger his enemies and leaping away to a far corner of the room.

Naruto felt his team rush to follow after the larger beast and nodded to himself. He quickly brought up his gundaggers to block an overhead blow only to sink to his knees under the force. Eyes wide he looked toward Minotaur to see a pair of glowing orbs flashing red with bloodlust. He briefly thought about whether or not pissing off a being of such potential strength had been a good idea. Having his mind elsewhere for just that brief second was enough for him to not see the hoof striking his stomach and sending him skidding backward.

"When I'm through with you, this won't be a tomb anymore… more like a catacomb." That little voice was enough to cause Naruto to snort, which may have been a bad move, "I'll kill you!"

"Now hold on just a moment." Naruto held up a hand while standing up straight in a relaxed posture.

Minotaur seethed as he kicked his hooves against the stone floor, "What? Gonna beg for mercy?!"

Naruto gave a sagely shake of his head, "No… I was just wondering if you thought it was a bit stuffy in here."

"Are you… why… die…?" Minotaur was a whirlwind of mixed emotions ranging from mildly concerned, to absolutely livid, to downright confused.

Naruto flicked the collar of his top before smiling, "Stuffy, definitely… I could use a cool breeze. **Bring the North Winds, Shiva-hime.** "

Minotaur's heart dropped as a harsh wind whipped through the tomb. Puddles of water from leaks in the room froze over, and soon their entire area of the room was covered in a thin layer of frost. Naruto smiled broadly as he felt a particularly chilly wind cyclone around him. Looking up he saw what might have been a portal that appeared as a brightly glowing snowflake. In a burst of fluffy snow Shiva appeared wearing baggy silk pants and a tight silk wrap to completely cover her bust, though the smooth skin of her arms and midriff were visible. Everything she wore was in hues of blue, and the whole picture reminded Naruto of the genies of fairy tales. The Ice Queen flew through the air down toward him before coiling around his body with the grace of a majestic koi until he felt her press her body flush to his back, her arms draped around his neck loosely. Naruto felt her lips brush against his ear softly, a bold move that he hadn't seen from her before, but wasn't altogether unpleasant.

"Not that I mind, but where did this come from?" Naruto asked while subconsciously tilting his head to the side, inviting more of her suddenly inspired affection.

Shiva smiled before gently snuggling her cool cheek against the warmth of his subtly exposed neck, **"Well, after the other night there isn't much to be shy about…"** This got him to stiffen a bit which made her giggle before she continued, **"And of course Siren is off with Diablos, and Little Minotaur looks too stunned to fight at the moment."**

Naruto laughed a bit before sighing, "We really need to settle all of this with Siren soon. For now though, as much as I love having you so close, we really should focus on the battle."

Minotaur had finally regained his bearings and scowled harshly at the two of them, "Oi, Shiva, the hell are you doing here helping this punk!?"

Shiva let one of her hands cup Naruto's cheek gently before caressing his whisker markings, **"Sorry little brother, but he's a true summoner. I have to obey him…~"** She 'accidentally' let her voice take on a bit of a teasing, sensual tone. Naruto's response was everything that she wanted it to be.

Minotaur fumed while cursing under his breath incoherently. Meanwhile, Naruto had to use his sleeve to wipe away the blood from his upper lip. He gave Shiva a pointed look while muttering, "You did that on purpose..."

Shiva merely smirked a little before her eyes took on a deadly focused glare. In a move faster than Naruto thought possible the lovely Guardian moved the two of them out of the way of a rather dangerous thrust that would have left several holes in Naruto's stomach.

Minotaur launched himself at the two of them and aimed his strikes for the human hoping to take out the source of the trouble before dealing with his obviously troubled sister. Shiva threw herself into Minotaur's path and deflected one of his powerful strikes with a scimitar made of black ice, the weapon's curved blade giving off a constant haze of cold steam. The little bovine cursed as he exchanged blows with the icy deity though his bulkier weapon was no match for the speed and grace of her scimitar. Realizing melee combat would cost him his strength with little reward he leapt back to gain some space between them.

"Why be this little human's bitch, Shiva!?" Minotaur slammed his tiny hoof into the floor, but instead of a wave of stone, the earth beneath him shimmered in green light before a line of spikes rose up and sped toward Shiva.

Shiva prepared a counter spell but before she could finish a wind filled the area, harsh and unyielding, yet she was left untouched. The wind swirled and formed a dense sphere before surging forward and slicing the coming spikes like the constructs were made of papier-mâché . Minotaur had only barely dodged the destructive orb of wind, taking several small cuts on his right leg, when he received an essence enhanced kick right to the face, cracking his left horn and sending him spiraling into the back wall. When Naruto landed, he had his gundaggers put away and his hands clenched in two tight fists, both suddenly covered in Wind Essence as his anger seethed unchecked.

"Don't ever insult Shiva in front of me… **or I'll kill you!"**

Minotaur climbed to his feet slowly while allowing the Earth Essence in the solid stone floor heal his wounds. He panted a bit, grunts slipping free from his lips every few breaths from the pain in his face, "Think you're so tough… huh? I am a Guardian, worm, you are nothing but a human with a few fancy tricks!"

Naruto dashed forward toward Minotaur forgoing the classic exchange of words that people often engaged in during important fights. Normally he would have loved the chance to banter, maybe throw in some cheek to impress Shiva, but not now. No, this little bastard had to open his mouth and talk trash about Shiva in front of him. Was she a weakling that needed him to defend her? Oh hell no, chivalry be damned before he insult her with such an insinuation. Nay, this was something different, this was something personal. No one was going to insult the woman he… loved? Sure, it was love, even if the two of them were desperately trying to slow down their obvious desires to be together.

Minotaur was not a Guardian in speak alone, and intercepted the speeding blonde with a devastating punch that connected their fists. Powerful he may be, but power did not ensure a complete understanding of it. Immediately after connecting fists with the human teen he felt immense pain fill his thick hand, and the scent of his own blood filled his large nostrils. Giving a great shove he was rewarded with a moment to examine his hand, and he gaped at the dozen or so deep cuts that were slowly healing with the help of the residual Earth Essence in the ground below his hooves. He snarled and looked up at the blonde who had assumed a loose, relaxed stance.

Minotaur eyed his weapon that had fallen from his hands when he took that foot to the face before and inwardly cursed his butterfingers, "Cocky little shit… the hell is your hand made of?"

Again Naruto chose to ignore the little Guardian in favor of surging forward. Fighting a shorter opponent was a new experience for the blonde, and while Minotaur had been caught off guard the last two successful strikes and had been an easy target, the mini-cow was damn fast and efficient when aware. Minotaur slipped under his guard several times, though only half of those had been unavoidable. Naruto felt a surge of essence build up in the little bastard and he saw the tell-tale signs of an Earth Essence hoof stike, so he leapt up. He watched in slight awe as the force of the magic surge sent waved twice as large, and three times as quick, as the larger Guardian. Taking advantage of the few seconds it would take Minotaur to recover from the slight daze the powerful attack left him in, the teen flipped thought the air to deliver a swift drop kick to the already fractured horn on Minotaur's head.

Naruto landed and flipped back to recover at a safe distance as he heard the pained cry of the little Guardian, as well as the surprisingly resounding impact of his broken horn on the floor before, "Fuck, my horn… you broke my horn! That's it, **everyone dies! Sacred, get over here!"**

~Scene Shift~

Seifer hadn't woken up that morning planning to spelunk in some depressing hole in the ground. He also never thought he would ever have to face off against a giant cow monster… twice. And finally, and this is the part that he likely could have gone his entire life without ever having convieved, he never thought he would watch said giant cow monster sitting in a heap in the middle of a tomb, having his hand gently caressed by his ex girlfriend. Yeah, turns out today had been "Anything Goes Sunday" and he'd completely missed the memo. There he stood, gunblade dug a few inches into the stone at his feet so that he could lean against it like a weary old man, watching his blue clad ex girlfriend consoling a giant purple fucking monster who was sporting a bandage wrapped right arm.

Their fight had gone as planned. Seifer took up the defensive front line using his incredible speed and dexterity from years of fighting with the lighter weight longsword gunblade at his side to deflect the slow, albeit devastating, attacks of the large Guardian. While he performed his deadly dance with the big fellow he would switch out to give the ladies a clear shot with their magic. Rinoa stuck mostly to tossing out potions that would splash against Seifer's back and act as a low level Cure spell. It was Quistis who worked the offense casting slightly overcharged Aero spells at the beast, though his thick armor took most of the early blows for him. It wasn't until Quistis got a solid shot in on Sacred's exposed right arm that everything changed.

Having taken such a nasty strike from his elemental weakness, Sacred suffered a great deal of pain before falling back onto his large rear. The team froze when he began to sniffle, and then an ungodly wailing filled the area. The beast had begun to cry, much like a child, and while Seifer groaned and prepared to continue the fight… Rinoa leapt into action to comfort the big baby. Even as the beast healed with his odd Earth Essence absorption, she proceeded to wrap up his arm and coo sweet words to him. While endearing, to Quistis at least, it was completely asinine.

Seifer was stirred from his sulking by the sound of a large crash from behind him. He turned to see his leader standing in a rather menacing stance with uncontrolled essence spinning around his hands. The Ice Queen was also there, as was her usual little ice field that heralded her arrival, _'At least one of us got a decent fight out of this…'_

" **Sacred, get over here!"** The little Minotaur screamed loud enough for them to hear him across the room, the tone resonating with furious power.

Seifer turned to face the great lummox and saw the large beast standing up slowly while Rinoa stepped back cautiously, **"Aww, big bro, can't we just-"**

Minotaur screamed a little harder, though his volume seemed to be unaffected, **"I said get your ass over here right now! We need to end this punk!"**

" **Aww… always gotta be so… mean when you get cranky… meanie."** Sacred grumbled before grabbing his weapon and walking toward his elder brother, said weapon unceremoniously dragging across the floor. Seifer, Rinoa and Quistis could only watch in mild amusement, even as the situation was obviously escalating beyond their abilities.

Naruto felt Shiva join him to his right and without giving much thought to his actions he hooked an arm around her waist and pulled her flush to his side in a possessive hold, his hand resting on the smooth skin of her exposed midriff. The frosty Guardian flushed a deep violet before looking over at Naruto to find him eyeing Minotaur with a deadly stare, his focus never so strong. Though most nothing could truly threaten her, she felt… safe in that moment, and let her body relax into his hold. His expression softened though he never took his eyes off the little bastard who was screaming obscenities at his large younger brother.

"Family or not, no one speaks to you like that…" Naruto whispered, his voice showing hints that his inner rage had yet to abate, "Sorry if you don't like the whole… macho-"

Shiva silenced him when she swiftly left his grip to coil around in front of him and press her lips against his own. Though the two had kissed before, that had hardly taken away from how incredible her lips felt caressing his own. It didn't last very long, but there was a connection between them in that brief shared moment where Shiva let Naruto know just how she felt about him defending her honor. For Naruto he'd grown up around women who were strong, independent, and hardly wanted for some knight to sweep them away from their troubles. Trouble with him was that he had a bit of a subconscious saving people tendency that just couldn't be quelled, so he was often scolded for stepping in when he wasn't wanted. Feeling her approval through the kiss was a weight off his shoulders, and his heart soared… though his inner rage did nothing if not intensify knowing that any actions he took from that point to put the little mouthy Guardian down for his slight against Shiva would be greatly appreciated.

When the two parted Shiva gave him another quick peck on the nose before smirking and flying up to settle herself on his shoulder. On instinct he wound his arm up and around her thighs to keep her balanced, though he found her weightless and easy to support due to her ability to float. Glancing up at her he could still see her little smirk playing t her lips, "Having fun up there?"

" **Of course. You didn't think you were the only one who could walk around claiming people, did you?"** She took his hand from her lap and linked their fingers together, **"Take care of me, my Naruto?"**

Even though he could hear her playful tone he wasn't oblivious enough to miss the underlying hope in both her words and actions, "Anything for you, my Shiva."

The two shared a few more moments together in their own little world before an annoying little voice pierced the air and caused both of them to groan, "Pay attention to me! I am here to deliver your doom!"

Minotaur had finally talked Sacred into continuing their little vendetta and the two of them were facing Shiva and Naruto with their hands covered in a dark brown magical essence. Together the both of them knelt down into a runner's stance before slamming their fists into the floor causing the entire room to shake. Naruto kept his feet firm and his arm wrapped tightly around Shiva, though to be honest it was less about securing her and more about… well, he's a guy, so come on. Anyway, the floor began to ripple before chunks of the smooth stone shattered into small bits only to reform into several dozen large stone bulls. The rocky golems snarled and spat while kicking up clouds of dust with their feet. Each had a set of red eyes that spoke of magical fury the likes of which no one had seen before.

Naruto gave a low whistle before looking up at his beautiful little snow angel, "Shiva, can you cast your strongest **Diamond Dust**?"

"Hmm~ I don't think that would be very fair." Shiva put a finger to her chin while already gathering the needed Ice Essence at the tip while trying to suppress a little smirk, "Making me do all the work…"

Naruto held a half ram seal while gathering up enough Wind Essence for an incredibly overpowered Aero spell, "Don't worry hime, I won't be lazy. Just go ahead and cast it when those weird statue things start to move toward us."

Minotaur watched the two of them stand, and in Shiva's case perch, there with growing fury. Shiva he could understand being at ease considering she was of the three first generation Guardians. It was the human, with that cocky smirk, those mirthful eyes… curse him! He ought to be trembling before the might of the all powerful Brothers! He let loose an ear splitting roar that made even his younger brother Sacred flinch before he took off running, his path cleared and led by the small army of bovine brutes in front of him. Sacred saw his brother take off and joined him only to help maintain the flow of Earth Essence into their attack.

"This is the end for you, puny human!" Minotaur and his minions were just close enough to feel the sudden chill in the air.

Shiva pointed her glowing finger toward the oncoming earthen army before moving her hand in a pistol firing motion. Immediately a storm of razor sharp ice blades flew through the air permafreezing everything in their path. Cracks formed in the stone floor from the intensity of the chill, and then Naruto made his move. From his midsection a burst of wind began to spin rapidly, condensing until it formed a hoop of incredibly sharp, whirling air. When he had refined it to the perfect density he let it burst out in a large arch in front of them. The intense Wind Essence combined with the low temperature winds of Shiva's **Diamond Dust** simultaneously froze the entire small army of statues and sliced them all clean in half. It moved too quickly for Sacred and Minotaur to dodge, and when they took the brunt of the combination they were sent off their feet while their bodies suffered hundreds of little cuts. The two of them landed several seconds later frozen in two solid boulders of thick ice. With their feet unable to touch the stone floor, neither of them could heal their wounds, though in their current prisons they were probably blissfully unaware of their pain.

"We so have to come up with a really cool name for that." Naruto chuckled when Shiva gave the top of his head a light smack, "What, it was a really effective combination, it deserves a cool name."

" **Do you have to name everything that you do? Doesn't that seem a bit…?"** Shiva left the sentence hanging before she giggled at the face he made.

Naruto grumbled about beautiful women with no flair before eyeing the two frozen and semi unconscious Guardians, "So, are these their real bodies, or are these two trouble makers hiding somewhere and just projecting themselves here?"

Shiva reluctantly flew from her perch over to her younger siblings to observe them closely. Sacred began to speak with a muffled voice before Shiva smiled and let his head free of the ice. When the last of the ice fell from his snout he huffed and sneezed hard enough to make his large ice shell tip back and forth. When the rocking came to a stop he shook his head and then looked at Shiva who was giving him a warm, apologetic look, **"These are their real bodies… hello little one."**

" **Sorry for making such a fuss, sister Shiva."** Sacred gained a slightly bashful look while eyeing the frozen beauty.

Shiva flew closer and rested her hand under his large snout to make him look up at her happy face, **"Don't worry, little Sacred, I understand why you and your big brother were so upset. Now that the fight is over, I want you to answer me a simple question. Do you like them?"**

Sacred gave a curious look before scanning the four humans in the chamber. When he looked back at Shiva he gave a small nod, **"Not sure about your human with the golden hair, but the other three were kind to me. When I was hurt, they didn't continue to attack, and even gave me a nice wrap for my arm. I didn't wanna attack, honest… just when big bro gets angry… you know."**

Shiva gave his large head a gentle pat which made Sacred grin goofily, **"You speak of your emotional link, I understand. Before I free your big bro, would you like to give them your blessing? My human there will make you much stronger, if you want. Also, you'll be able to see Quezacotl, Ifrit, Diablos… and Siren."**

Sacred's eyes lit up when he heard Siren's name, **"Siren?! You found her? Please, can we see her? We missed her most of all!"**

She smiled at the exuberance of his childish glee before giving him a nod and releasing the rest of his body from the ice. When he fell to the floor he landed on his hooves before rushing over to Naruto with speeds that shocked even Shiva. Naruto leapt back a bit as the giant beast stopped on a dime and knelt down to look Naruto in the eyes. Feeling like this was some kind of test Naruto stood tall and stared right back, even throwing in a bit of the stink eye for kicks. The rest of the team and Shiva watched in silence while giant man-child faced off against normal man-child. Suddenly, Naruto made an odd face while gurgling out an incoherent noise which caused the room to sweat. Sacred watched the odd human for a moment before he burst out laughing, the sound booming in the underground tomb.

" **You're weird. I like you, human. Sorry for trying to squish you."** Sacred had a sheepish smile on his large face.

Naruto grinned and offered up his fist, "No sweat, big guy, gotta be able to let these things go if I want to date your sister."

At the sound of three jaws slamming into the floor both Naruto and Sacred looked around at the other SeeD in the room. Naruto laughed nervously at their stunned faces before looking over at Shiva. Said Ice Queen was blushing once again with how open he'd been with her sibling Guardian, even after all of her bold actions earlier. He looked back up at Sacred who wore a very innocent, curious look. The former shinobi waved it off before offering up his fist again. This time Sacred got the idea and as gently as he could connected his giant fist with Naruto's. In a flash, Sacred was sporting a new pauldron on his once exposed right shoulder and a matching gauntlet with wicked spikes on the knuckles and backhand. Seeing his new armor, and feeling the odd rush of power in his body, he spun around to look at his elder brother and even with the ice blocking his view he could see an identical addition to Minotaur's armor.

" **Whoa… this is cool."** He made a b-line right for Rinoa who let out a small shocked squeak, **"Check it out, isn't this cool?!"**

Shiva flew over to Naruto and let her body rest against his back again, her arms loosely wrapped around his neck so that her hands were on his chest. Naruto smiled at the feeling of having her so close while he watched his little sister smiling nervously at the energetic Guardian. Sacred seemed the polar opposite of his older brother. One was energetic, childish, and a bit of a pacifist if the lack of wounds on his team were anything to go by. The other was angry, brash, and a bit of a cattle driver. In a way they made the perfect pair, though their teamwork needed a bit of refining. It had been all too easy to split them up by goading the elder into a more personal battle. Maybe if Garden ever gave him a break between missions he'd work with the two of them.

A pair of cool lips touched his left ear, her whisper accompanied by a soft breeze that sent chills down his spine, **"Thank you for going out of your way to seek them out. I know your team is short on time right now."**

Naruto let his head tilt to the right a little inviting her as he did before, "It was in the mission briefing, so the upper brass can't be upset if we're a little late. Besides, I want you and the others to be together again like you should have been for all these years."

Shiva saw the exposed neck of her Naruto and shocked him by laying a small trail of kisses from the base of his neck right up to his ear, **"You know… we took a big step by claiming each other today so openly."**

"You don't seem too put out by it." Naruto had his eyes shut while he enjoyed her ministrations. It wasn't anything too intimate, but that was exactly how it should be for now and he was reveling in it.

Her kisses ceased and her cheek pressed into his neck much like before, her chin resting on his shoulder lightly, **"To be honest I've been struggling with this… taking it slow thing. Siren has… been putting a lot of pressure on me. You know about the looks and the mild disapproval, but I have been keeping her talks with me in private to myself. She means well, really…"**

Naruto frowned a little, "I get where she is coming from Shiva, but I want you to know that no matter what I won't do anything to hurt you. I've spent far too long having other people hurt me to want to do the same to someone I care about."

" **There is more to it than that, Naruto… listen, I don't have much essence left so we can talk about it later, okay?"** Shiva tried to hide her discomfort, though to Naruto it was quite obvious.

Not wanting to upset her Naruto pretended to buy her excuse and turned to kiss her forehead which got her to flush a bit, "Sounds good to me. How about you and me go to dinner when I get to Deling City?"

Shiva let go of him to walk around in front of him and give him a small smile, **"This would make our third official date. Isn't there some kind of third date tradition?"**

Naruto gave a small laugh before shaking his head, "Not exactly my field of study, but I reckon we may have skipped ahead a bit. I think its when you get that first kiss."

Shiva playfully pouted at him, **"I had no choice, you're prone to life threatening danger. If I didn't get my kiss when I could I might not have gotten one."**

Naruto gave a blank look while sweat poured down the back of his head, "That… that's not funny." Her response of sticking her tongue out at him got him to growl softly before pulling her close and catching her offending appendage in a quick kiss. That quick kiss instantly became much deeper when he realized that he'd force a more… intimate lip lock than either of them had engaged before. While he froze, worried he might have screwed up, Shiva let her eyes drift shut before exploring the wondrous new sensation. When Naruto felt the Guardian in his arms enticing him to participate, all his trepidation shattered and he continued what he started.

After several minutes the two of them separated and rest their foreheads together, eyes locked and breathing haggard from a lack of air. Shiva's gaze kept darting from his lips and back up to his cerulean eyes, her tongue wetting her lips every so often. Naruto was content to watch her behavior. She seemed even more eager than he, and her eyes had a lingering hunger to them. Was she simply overwhelmed because she'd spent so long without such feelings, or was it a sign of how intensely she desired _him_. The doubtful troll that lingers in all men and women kept hammering into him that it had nothing to do with him. Shaking off such thoughts he focused on the now. He had the most beautiful woman in the world in his arms, both their sets of lips were slightly swollen from the intensity of their kissing, and her icy eyes burned with a heated desire for more.

And then Shiva began to fade while her lingering essence ran dry. As Naruto was about to curse he heard Shiva loose a string of profanities that would have made a sailor blush. At the end of her tirade she gave Naruto a quick smile and one last peck on the lips, **"See you in Deling City, Naruto-kun."**

Naruto let his hand brush against her cheek softly before she faded, "See you then, Shiva-chan."

As he stood there smiling at his hand he felt a presence approaching from his left side. Turning, he noticed Seifer sliding across the floor almost like he was skating on air. When he was close enough to Naruto he kept his eyes shut while nudging the ninja in the side with his elbow in sets of three, each very soft so that they would keep his attention without causing a ruckus, "So… Naruto… you and Shiva…?"

"Huh? Oh… oh, yeah, hehe…" Naruto chuckled nervously as Seifer nodded slowly, almost sage like.

"So… how far have you two…?" Seifer left that hanging while his right eye opened to peer at Naruto suspiciously.

Naruto flushed while trying to look indignant, "That's none of your business-"

Rinoa was suddenly on his right side, in much the same relaxed, slightly hunched over posture as Seifer, eyes both shut while her elbow bumped into his right arm gently in pulses of three or two, "I think that little make-out session you had in front of us was proof enough whose business this is…"

"Rinnie-chan, you should respect your elder brother. I don't like where this strange attitude is coming from-" Naruto became increasingly indignant as h went until he was cut off by Quistis.

Said blonde blue magician had slid into place in front of him and was bumping her elbow against his stomach lightly, "I'm not sure I like how my Kohai is behaving with the Garden's Guardian Forces…"

Naruto palmed his face and rubbed his eyes with his fingers and thumb a bit rougher than most optometrists would recommend, "Just… let's just get out of here, damn you."

 **~Scene Shift~**

It took about twenty minutes for Team Beta to resurface, and the lot of them couldn't have felt better about it. Naruto had decided to leave Minotaur frozen since he was positive the little ankle biter would have tried to attack again. The sun was hanging over the afternoon sky, so there were likely only a few hours they had to hike left before they would have to set up camp. Upon hearing the word hike, Rinoa fell over backwards into a particularly comfortable patch of thick grass in a dramatic showing of protest. Quistis found the spectacle mildly amusing, while Seifer groaned softly at the antics of his former lover. Naruto shook his head, though his face was cracked into a wide grin to show that he wasn't angry or displeased with her.

"Rinnie-chan, we have to use every bit of time we have or else we will be late. The window of opportunity for the real mission is closing with every minute." He offered her his hand which she reluctantly took.

"I know… I'm just not used to this fast paced, non-stop lifestyle. I mean, the Owls used to work tirelessly, but we kept on the move with our mobile base." Rinoa patted down her clothes to clear away any dirt.

Quistis narrowed her eyes as she scanned the distance, "Eyes up, we have company."

Seifer pulled out a single scope from one of his jacket pockets before scanning the horizon, "I see it… looks like an armored civilian transport… headed right for us at top speed."

Naruto took the offered scope when Seifer had finished his observations. Sure enough a cobalt blue armored civilian rent-a-can was blazing a trail across the plains. Several packs of roaming monsters were rammed through by the gutsy driver. The reckless maneuvers had Naruto feeling on edge. He handed the scope back to Seifer before taking up position at the head of their group, "Weapons free, if they don't slow up scatter and regroup once they stop."

It took several tense minutes for the transport vehicle to close in on their location. It was large enough to comfortably fit a group of ten, though not outfitted with the right chassis to fit any mounted weapons. The universal symbol for the Rent-a-Car system was visible on the front doors and hood. The windows were tinted black so the team couldn't quite see who was driving, though whoever they were they had to be either a madman or incredibly skilled behind the wheel. The vehicle grew closer and closer, everyone getting tense in preparation for the oncoming confrontation. Just as Naruto prepared to leap out of the way the tires screeched and turned until the beastly vehicle was drifting toward him sideways. When it stopped it was a mere inch from his face, and while he never shut his eyes, the right was twitching dangerously.

The front passenger powered window lowered with a quiet hum before a familiar tan coat sleeve moved to rest on the window sill. Next a western style cowboy hat poked out atop a very cheerfully smiling pretty boy's head, "Y'all call for a lift? Kinneas n' Tilmitt Cab Company, at yer service, heh."

Selphie could be seen waving from behind him, her left hand still gripping the steering wheel, "Hey guys! How was your mission?"

Naruto palmed his face again while grumbling about insane women who were bound to be the end of him. Quistis chuckled lightly while walking up to Irvine's window to speak to them both, "Mission accomplished with flying colors. We have the code to pass on to our new client, and we secured the aid of a new Guardian Force."

Selphie launched herself across the car so that most of her body was draped across a suddenly very red faced Irvine, "Wait, you got to fight a new Guardian?! Oh come on~! You mean I got stuck spending three days with a bunch of sausages, cooped up in a small two bed hotel room, staring down at a city that I wasn't allowed to explore for more than two hours a day, while you four got to go on some epic quest and fight some god-like creature?!"

Rinoa peeked her head out from behind a still mildly frustrated Naruto and smiled broadly, "Actually, we had to fight two of them, they came as a set."

Selphie's head fell so that her hair shadowed her eyes, "Life isn't fair."

Naruto walked to the back door and slid it open while gesturing toward the seats, "That's it, get in, everyone, before I end up slapping all of you." Naruto ignored the indignant sputtering of the totally innocent and out of the loop Irvine who was still too flustered from the physical contact with Selphie to speak coherently.

Seifer was the last to climb in before Naruto and while he walked by he gestured to his neck and lips, "Got a bit of blue on you." With a smirk he vanished into the seat furthest to the back.

Naruto grumbled before wiping himself clean quickly and hopping into the last seat closest to the door, "So how did you two know we would be ready to go today?"

Irvine, who had finally regained some semblance of composure now that Selphie had retaken her seat, looked back with a small smirk, "Simple, leader man, I've had to make the same hike before a few times, so I added on a bit more time for your mission and snuck away with Selphie here to come get you. Leon… may or may not know where we are currently."

Selphie huffed a bit, "Don't care how mad he is, I was losing my mind back there. I'm not made for recon work."

Seifer grumbled from the back, "Don't think I would last much longer myself, consider the company…"

Irvine laughed while slapping his knee, "Y'all should have seen Leon's face when Zell started getting antsy and shadow boxing all day. I'm pretty sure a man's eye brows aren't supposed to spasm."

It started as a few snorts from Naruto and Seifer, and then Rinoa let out a giggle that Quistis quickly mirrored behind her hand. Irvine grinned and barked out a loud laugh that helped to break the levies and soon enough everyone was sharing a good old guffaw. The sharpshooter laughed only a little before relaxing to the sounds of his new friend's joyous raucous. This is what he'd always secretly wanted, a feeling of camaraderie, of being a part of something instead of apart. Perhaps it had been pure luck that he wound up having just the right skills for their group, or maybe he was fated to finally get back this feeling he'd been longing for for so long. Whatever it was, he'd hold onto this with all his might, even if he had to abandon Galbadia to do it.

 **~End Line~**

 **As always, Read, Review, Love Your Kohais, and Share!**

 **Does anyone else smell burnt toast?**


	19. Chapter 19: A Night in Deling City

**Here we are, the next chapter for Uzumaki Naruto: Guardian Enforcer. As promised, I dedicated a portion of this chapter, a pretty big portion mind you, to Naru x Shiva goodness. Let it be known that I am not the best romance writer in the world, but I am never one to back down from a literary challenge. That's my windo, my writer way!**

 **Also, there is a little treat at the end of the chapter's official content that I hope you all enjoy.**

 **Another thing, this story has been dedicated to a single pairing between Naruto and Shiva for a while now. There have been a few questions as to a possible addition of Quistis to the relationship, which would turn this story into a multi fic. I am not opposed to the idea of multi stories, but I set out to make this a single pairing story. Now… for those people who really want a Quistis/Naruto pairing… I am always open to suggestions and alternatives, and if there is enough clamoring for this story to change then I may be swayed, but it will surely take more than one or two people to convince me!**

 **One last thing, something I saw in a comment or two. First off, as was expressed by multiple people, having characters from Konoha coming to Gaia would be incredibly cliché, and create massive plot holes. Now, though its been a while, I did have a few moments called the Konoha Chronicles that touched base with the people back home. The last was a tasteful rewrite of a Christmas classic that centered around sending T-Rexaur through the Ritual Circle Naruto left behind. Imagine the Elemental Nations, then set nearly everything on fire, and then have Mr. Popo from DBZ Abridged (may it rest in peace) spend a week there. That is the fate of those poor, unfortunate bastards. No one is going to have time to try and seek out Naruto, and the Shinigami has her reasons for even allowing his soul to enter Gaia in the first place, something that wouldn't be true for the others. And yes, even if we haven't seen her, Shinigami-sama is still out there, and she is very much involved with events that will unfold.**

 **Secondly, I will be honest, I haven't fully abandoned the idea of having the Toads reconnect with Naruto. However, due to the long road ahead of us with this fic I can safely say I have plenty of time to think about it. For now, instead of asking for spoilers, just go ahead and tell me what you would like to see from canon brought over, and let me deal with the details and surprise you with it!**

 **Without further ado…**

 **~Link Start~**

Naruto practically kicked the door off of the civilian transport car the moment Selphie drifted the damn thing into one of the vacant spots in the parking lot. It had taken next to no time at all to bulldoze their way across the plains to Deling City, but every moment of that trip had felt like their last. Selphie was many things, headstrong, courageous, a gifted magician, adorable on a level few could match… a driver she was not. Oh, she got them from A to B in record time, but her lust for plowing through monsters had them swerving and tipping every few hundred feet. One could argue that she is a fantastic driver considering her success at avoiding all of those potential accidents, but those people would have to suffer through riding along with the little devil for a few hours to be a proper judge. As the door slammed open Naruto fell out onto his hands and knees, his lungs gasping at deep breaths.

"Oh sweet Kami, Guardians, and anyone else listening… thank you for this unmoving plot of black top. I would kiss it if I weren't afraid it was a mirage." Naruto felt Seifer stumble out.

Said blonde swordsman clung to the now stationary vehicle with a tightly gripped hand, his face green, "I don't know whether to curse her or commend her… that was hell."

Quistis leapt out of the back followed by an equally graceful Rinoa, both sporting mildly amused grins. Quistis was first to speak as she knelt down to pat Naruto gently on the head, "What's the matter? You big, strong men going to be okay after the scary ride?"

"If this is how the men of SeeD usually handle a rough ride I'll ask for an all women team next time." Rinoa was barely able to speak while holding her hand to her face to cover her mouth and giggles..

Irvine did in fact kick his door open, considering it didn't have to be slid like the back door, before hopping out and back kicking the door shut again. His rough treatment of the vehicle seemed off putting at first until one remembered just what kind of punishment the vehicles were designed to endure. The cowboy turned to the rest of the group and gave a knowing smile toward Naruto and Seifer, "You boys obviously haven't had to take advanced war-zone driving courses, otherwise you'd have been more prepared for our little joy ride."

Naruto, though worse off due to his lack of ever having to ride in any vehicle regardless of the driving conditions, was first to recover and stood up slowly on wobbly legs, "That was acrually only my second time riding in one of those things… don't ask, I'll explain some other time." He gave Irvine a dismissive wave when he saw the look of incredulousness on the brunette's face.

Selphie hopped around the front of the transport and looked around with a big grin on her face, "That was way too fun. I'm the designated driver from now on, got it?"

Seifer and Naruto both groaned, but neither had the balls to offer protest, especially with her new weapon parked right next to them. Quistis gave a soft sigh before turning toward the bustling city, "We should report to Squall as soon as possible to give him the code we found. The sooner that's done, the more time we have to prepare."

 **~Scene Shift~**

Regardless of how much destruction and death the campaigns by Galbadia had caused over the last decades, even their victims would have to submit to the truth that Deling City was one of the most beautiful cities in the world. While not incredibly keen on the futuristic technology that made up a vast majority of many cities across the globe, Deling City was in no way inferior to any other city, save those possibly located deep within Esthar. Away from the hustle and bustle of the main Market District the majority of the city had maintained a more classical theme, though this theme was merely cosmetic. A sea of lights was visible for miles giving ships at sea a beautiful beacon to light their way safely toward the coast. Located near the north western region of the continent the climate ranged from mild to frigid, so tourists and locals alike were often seen in heavier clothes on their way about their business.

This charming city was home to several fine eateries, tourist attractions, and top quality hotels. The most famous hot spot for high society was the Galbadia Hotel where several of the world's most influential have called their temporary home away from home. Of course, not just anyone can get a room at such a top tier place, but anyone can stop by and admire the interior… for a few minutes. That being said, it is no wonder that when several teenagers, each equipped with deadly weapons, was welcomed with tentative glances and worried glares while they strode across the lobby to the stairs leading to the second floor. One rather cheeky blonde flashed a large grin toward a group of very wary guests who promptly began to sweat.

"Ya know, having people stare at me like that was almost nostalgic. I want to walk through there again." Naruto was just about to initiate plan 'Trollolol' when his collar was gripped and his body dragged unceremoniously toward a lift, "Aww come on!"

Continuing the trend of unceremonious actions Seifer, who had been the man responsible for ruining Naruto's fun, threw the blonde ex-shinobi into the lift before everyone filed in behind him. Seifer was the last to climb on and Irvine gave the button for the top floor a jab with his thumb. Once the lift had lurched upward the gunner turned to the group with a slightly nervous smile, "That kind of stuff happen often with y'all?"

Selphie poked her head out from her spot between Quistis and Seifer with a smile, "You should have seen what _he_ did to all of us when he had to deal with one of the Guardians back at Balamb."

Rinoa perked up at this, "Oh, this I have got to hear."

"Can we please focus on the now?" Seifer retorted rather hotly, unconsciously shivering when he remembered how he'd been dragged around by those damned wires.

Naruto was back on his feet rather suddenly with his arm wrapped around Irvine's shoulders in a friendly manner, "You really missed out on one hell of a fun day, my man. I ran around Balamb Garden collecting the best of the best that I could find, our only two gunblade specialists, our premiere martial arts expert, Trabia Garden's top mid-range spell caster, and our only Blue Magic Mistress. You see, I was given an old, mystical object that housed a rather angry and spiteful Guardian by the name of… Diablos. My chances of success were bad, I mean what can one man accomplish against a God? Knowing my limits I had to gather my closest allies, because only together would we triumph over such unspeakable odds!

It was my duty to see to this Guardian and do what I could, and nothing would stop me… even if I had to kidnap my best friends. I found them all unwilling on one level or another, so force was required. Only the beautiful and powerful Quistis of the Azure Magika was willing to aid me on my quest. Dear Seifer the Swift Blade was engaged in heated debate with the Gardenius Facultacious, their silver tongues hardly a challenge for one such as he, however he was needed elsewhere, so I spirited him away with my Lasso of Daft Punks. With my team assembled, we ventured forth into the itty bitty living space of the dreadfully nettled Diablos, the Not-That-Hard-to-Defeat. Only with their help was he kept at bay until I, Naruto the Gallant Guardian Enforcer of fair Balamb Garden, could summon forth Ifrit the Red Beast of the Flames of Youth and combine our powers to weaken the demon into submission.

How I wish that thee, the Dashing Irvine of the Twin Barrels, could have been there to help vanquish the formidable Diablos. They would have sung praises of our glory from Deling City to the unknown corners of Esthar. Alas, it was not meant to be, but fear not good sir, for our adventures together have only just begun!"

Irvine gave a hearty laugh while everyone else in the lift chuckled or giggled, except Seifer of course, though his face was a bit flushed from the odd title he'd been given. The swordsman had always been keen to the idea of knights in the ages of old, and though his priorities in life had taken a dramatic change that would always be something he dreamt of. He could get used to being called Swift Blade, even if Naruto had only been playing around. Still, the fact that Naruto had spoken so highly of their skills was not missed on any of the Balamb SeeD in the lift. Rinoa of course was puffing out her cheeks a little while sending Naruto a bit of a glare, though it was no where near heated enough to be genuine.

"Hey, what about me?" Rinoa crossed her arms while facing Naruto and Irvine, the latter of whom was still chuckling at the lively and tastefully doctored tale.

Naruto gave her a look as he rubbed his chin softly, "Hmm, I forgot you weren't there for that, let me see… ah! Our epic victory over the boastful dark creature Diablos was merely a test of worth, for you see, Zell of the Steel Fists, Selphie the Trabian Star, Leon the Lion's Pride, and myself were assigned to offer our aid to the fair Princess of Owls. Oppressed by a foreign king, she sought swift justice for her people, and on our blood we would see it done. In our hour of greatest need, when fate would have us bleed over the cobbles of Timber's gutters, Seifer the Swift Blade clashed steel to steel and rallied our forces to a decisive victory, though it was a victory short lived as we made haste to escape the gaping maw of the enemy war beast."

Rinoa gave a big grin as she stepped back, thoroughly placated by her addition to his whimsical retelling of recent events. Irvine gave Naruto a friendly slap on the back as he guffawed, "You and I are gonna get along just fine, partner."

When the lift stopped the audible ding was followed by the creeping of the doors as they opened to allow their exit. The hallway was stunning with polished wood floors and paneled walls, a regal styled wall paper with small, diamond designs that climbed up to the ceilings which were painted a calming peach hue. Running up and down the hall on the floors were red carpets that stopped about a foot from the moldings along the walls so that tables could be placed on the flat wood between the suite doors. Irvine and Selphie took the lead with Naruto bringing up the rear. They'd been given room 134 which was located at the corner of the hotel so that they'd have plenty of windows for surveillance. Irvine spun around to block the door before placing a finger to his lips.

Once he had everyone's attention he gave the door several knocks with his knuckles, "Ahem… room service." His voice took on a posh accent that nearly had everyone's bottom jaws slamming the floor. Where did his country drawl go?

The unmistakable voice of Leon grumbled through the door, "No one ordered anything, thanks anyway."

Irvine smirked mischievously, "Pardon me, monsieur, but I am afraid I must insist that this particular order is yours."

"Just leave, we didn't order anything, thank you." Leon sounded irritated from his side of the door, his hand likely gripping his gunblade.

Irvine took a cautionary step away from the door, "Are you sure, monsieur? Perhaps your lover was the one to call it in? One Lovers' Succulent Sweets platter… chocolate dip on the side?"

A moment of silence passed while the party watched the door intently, all holding their breath. And then, the sound of a struggle erupted from the other side of the door that lasted for only a minute. The next moment the door swung open with a harsh slam and Zell was thrown from the room into the hall way while Leon stood menacingly at the door, "You idiot, you tell this man you didn't order…any… what?"

Irvine gave a friendly wave from his place by the door, his face plastered with a very satisfied smirk. Behind the man Zell was on the floor on his back spread eagle, Selphie using a small fan to try and wave air into his face. Naruto, Seifer, Quistis, and Rinoa all stood off to the side watching either of the interactions with equal amounts of amusement. The gunner walked up to Leon casually before giving the front of his hat a flick, "Howdy leader, I was just on a stroll when I happened upon Team Beta-"

Leon crossed his arms to try and regain his cool, aloof guy swagger despite the rage that was moments ago masking his façade, "The hell did you and Selphie actually go? You were to report back at least two hours ago."

Quistis stepped forward to place a delicate hand on both teen's shoulders, "Inside would be best, I dare say."

Leon looked around the hall before giving a firm nod and allowing everyone into the room. Naruto lost a quick game of rock-paper-scissors so he was delegated to dragging Zell's heavy body along the floor into the room. Watching the blonde drag the groaning boxer into the room Leon palmed his face in frustration and slammed the door shut. The interior of the room was rather Spartan and only housed two twin beds, obviously not one of their more luxurious suites, but it would do for their ragtag team. Rinoa leapt into the nearest bed and loosed a cute little moan as her aching body sank into the bed sheets. Naruto dumped Zell off in the tub of the bathroom before taking a seat in one of the two arm chairs situated in the corners. It was about that time when everyone began to relax when Leon suddenly dragged a large white board out of the closet that was covered from top to bottom in notes and rough drawings of the streets below.

Naruto groaned, "This looks like its gonna take a while…"

"That's a lot of detail… how much time have you spent staring out the window?" Quistis, while impressed with the amount of information, was no less horrified than the rest of her team when considering the daunting task of reviewing everything that he'd recorded.

Leon gave a small huff before mumbling something under his breath. Seeing the confused faces around the room Irvine stepped up to answer their question properly, "I reckon the man hasn't left that spot over yonder since we shacked up." He gave a jerk of his thumb toward a portion of the floor, which was covered in an off-white carpet, where two foot prints had been indented into the normally fluffed up threads.

Naruto stared at the spot for a few moments, much like everyone else, and then gave Leon a blank look as he cursed, "Damn~ you need a hobby."

Leon stared right back at Naruto giving his all to maintain an identical blank look, "This is a mission, not a vacation. Now if we could focus… I want the details of your mission."

Naruto gave a small wave to Quistis before winking at her, "I leave that to my second in command. Quistis, full report please."

The blonde woman gave a warm smile toward her team leader before stepping over to the windows and turning to the room, "Team Beta's mission was a success, our primary objective…"

 **~Scene Shift~**

When Quistis' summary of the mission to the Tomb was complete she moved to stand by Naruto's side. The ex-shinobi was still seated and relaxing, his hands folded in front of his face as he held his eyes shut. He knew their mission was far more exciting than the boring recon assignment that Team Alpha had been assigned, so he was hoping to give Leon time to simmer down. He put on a strong front of being indifferent and caring for very little else save the mission, and more recently his friends, but deep down the guy wanted something more… some higher calling. Naruto recognized it in his mannerisms and remembered another young teen who'd struggled with his identity and his desires as well, and it didn't bode well. His fears were realized when he heard Leon walking over to the window and giving the sill a harsh rap with his closed fist.

After a few moments the dark swordsman turned to the room and gave a small sigh, "All right, good work Team Beta, those two GFs should be a great asset to the teams as well as Garden. As for Team Alpha we've been observing the city the past few nights and the military presence has been steadily increasing, however patrols have only become more lax. I've been allowing our team short trips out to the city under the guise of tourists, and from what we have gathered there is some big parade planned for tomorrow night. In our mission parameters we are to report to the Caraway Estate tomorrow, approximately three hours before the scheduled time of the event, which has me rather… unsettled."

Seifer, who'd been leaning on the wall beside the door, stepped forward and gave Leon a hard look, "Sounds like someone knows something they shouldn't. You remember our SeeD exam, how troop deployment within the city seemed a bit… lax? Their objective had never been to take the city, just for their forces to hold back the army of Dollet until they secured the radio tower."

Irvine, from his place on the corner of the bed nearest the windows, sat up straighter as he looked around at the group, "Wait a second, y'all were the ones who gave Galbadia all that trouble back then? I heard one of their newest model Armored Mechas was left to rust on the beach in Dollet, and from the reports we got at the Garden something hit that sucker like a bull into a block of butter."

Naruto gave a small chuckle, "What can I say? Sometimes I can really grate on people."

Irvine gave his head a small cock to the side as his hair draped part ways over his face, and then he leant forward toward Naruto with an eager grin, "What kind of attack was it? Did ya have one of those explosives launchers or something? Only something with a lot of oomph would be able to cave in the cranium of one of those suckers!"

Quistis quickly wrapped her hand around Naruto's mouth, blushing a little at her bold move, before giving Irvine a reassuring smile, "We can discuss that later on when there's more time. For now, let's finish the discussion about the mission."

Irvine gave a quick nod when he realized everyone in the room was giving him an expectant look. Quistis was satisfied, but then her face went an even brighter red as she yanked her hand away from Naruto's face. Said blonde had his tongue out and a satisfied smirk on his lips, "Gotcha!"

Leon gave a groan as he let his head fall into his palm, "It's like living with a six year old…" He recovered quickly enough before walking to his board of notes and gesturing toward different sections of the notes, "I have the deployment times, patterns, and shift changes marked down for every street within three blocks of the parade route. Whatever this client has for us we will likely be deployed in that area, and we will be ready. I expect everyone… _everyone_ … to go over these notes at some point either tonight or tomorrow morning."

Naruto knew right away that he was talking to him, as if the drilling glare he received from Team Alpha's leader wasn't enough of a hint, that tone was a dead giveaway. He stood up from his seat and patted down his clothes casually, an action that caught the attention of the room. When he was finished his flamboyant maneuver he gave the room a big grin and a thumbs up, "Not to worry guys, I'll definitely have a good and thorough look over those notes, promise. Right now though… I've got somewhere to be."

In a flash Leon was in front of Naruto giving him a very firm glare, a vein in his forehead throbbing a little, "Hold on a moment… did you just say you had somewhere to be? And exactly where is that?"

Naruto gave the back of his head a little rub before chuckling nervously, "Come on guy… do we have to discuss this in front of everyone?"

Leon's reply came without hesitation or sympathy, "Yes, yes we do, now give me the where, why, and a good enough reason to allow this."

"Somewhere that a guy can take a fine lady to impress her with his charm, wealth, and dashing good looks, because I promised said fine lady a night on the town and we will likely be on the run away from here this time tomorrow night, and I don't actually need your authorization for this because as of this moment I am still technically leader of Team Beta, so you have no say in whether I do or do not do something yet." Naruto playfully ticked each of his answers off with his fingers while giving the ceiling a contemplative gaze.

Leon felt his body relax as the logic of the final answer settled into him. Naruto was right, he wasn't responsible for Naruto at that moment and any poor decisions the blonde made were on his own head. Of course there was that nagging feeling that he wanted to berate his friend for behaving in a way that could put them in danger, but that was overwhelmed by the sweet, sweet relief of having his own record intact. With only a little hesitation he gave Naruto a nod and walked back to his perch, his boots sinking into the dents in the carpet perfectly, "Fair enough, just be sure to get back in time to go over these notes, or so help me I will report you and put in for you to be demoted."

Whatever the reason for Leon's sudden change of heart it was the last thing on Naruto's mind as he happily accepted the response and made for the door. Before he left though he turned to the room and gave his team members a warm grin, "Team Beta, take this time to rest and restock in town when you can. Until I return… Seifer, you are in charge. Keep the others alert and confer with Leon if you are unsure of what to do before I get back. Remember that while Quistis is your subordinate for the time being she is still of a higher rank overall, and therefore she will be observing your actions and decisions with the utmost scrutiny. Don't screw this up."

 **~Line Break~**

Naruto decided to leave the hotel from one of the windows and walked down the outer wall at a leisurely pace. The city below looked magnificent in the darkness of the night. In the distance he could see the ocean, the bright full moon above casting it's light over the faraway waves. Knowing that a man walking down the wall of a building wasn't something this world was familiar with he leapt gracefully toward the nearest rooftop before landing with a muffled thump. It had been a long time since he'd been able to tree jump and he forgot how exhilarating it was to soar through the air, the wind whipping his hair about. With his feet back on a proper solid ground he wandered to the edge of the rooftop to peer down at the street below.

Galbadia Hotel was located in the heart of Deling City's market, so only the most expensive and highest quality goods would be on display in the bright window cases. Normally this sort of thing would be nothing short of a pain in Naruto's sweet, toned ass, however he'd been receiving regular stipends of cash from Balamb. Prying his eyes from the busy market street he brought up his Junction Watch and went through his information. When his eyes landed on his total funds he wasn't sure whether to be disappointed or bug eyed. There were plenty of zeroes, but would that be enough to cover what he'd planned to purchase? There was only one way to find out, and with that thought in mind he leapt down to the darkened alley between the buildings and stepped out into the night life of Deling City.

 **~Scene Shift~**

"Ya know Jo…" The audible thoughts were cut off quickly by a resounding smack, which was immediately followed by several hushed curses.

Two very average and ordinary Galbadian Soldiers were standing next to one of the ATMs on the corner of Market Street and Deling Avenue. These two soldiers were much like the rest of their brethren in arms, both dressed in the low ranking standard blue uniforms with the most basic of armor enhancements. The taller of the two, only by three inches mind you, was a clean shaven, All-Galbadian boy born in one of the smaller townships outside of Deling City. His companion, a native to fair Deling City, wore a shaggy beard that poked out from under his visor like some kind of sleeping animal resting on his chin, obscuring his mouth from sight. These two good ol' boys of Galbadia were the notoriously unlucky Jo and Dan. After a series of unfortunate coincidences the two of them had been taken off the active duty roster and placed into the Deling City Guard unit. Many considered the work boring, and the low pay grade did nothing to assuage such thoughts. For Jo, there was nothing sweeter than the gig, and he'd have none of Dan's crap screwing it up for him!

"Dan, I have said this before, and I will continue to say this well into our old age: shut up. This is literally the last straw for us, and I for one do not want to face Kiala if we lose our uniforms. It was bad enough having to be away for weeks on end, I do not want to spend the rest of my marriage sleeping on the couch." Jo crossed his arms and leaned back on the side of the ATM, his long sword scraping across the ground a little from the position.

Dan gave the back of his helmet a rub, even though the action was fruitless if he was hoping to sooth his recently abused skull, and glared through his visor at Jo, "I was just gonna say that I was glad we got to stay partners now that we were assigned to guard the capital, geeze."

Jo gave a small nervous chuckle before looking down at the ground, "Sorry Dan… guess I'm a bit jumpy. To be honest, I was starting to feel odd myself, and I was afraid you would only make it worse with your damn… spidey senses or whatever you call them."

Dan took up a thinking pose as he looked up toward a nearby street lamp, "Now that you mention it…"

Jo took a hold of Dan by the front of his uniform and began to shake him back and forth violently, "No! No, no, no, you Guardian damned bastard, don't you dare start now!"

As the two of them made a spectacle of themselves Naruto was passing by on his way to one of the local shops he'd been lead to believe sold the finest suits in town. He'd have preferred something tailor made, but damned if he didn't have the time or the patience for that sort of thing at the time. As he walked by the two wacky Galbadian Soldiers he couldn't help but smirk. He was glad to see his little pranks hadn't damaged them permanently, and he was equally glad the two of them weren't in those bathing suits anymore. Sure, it had been his idea, but that didn't mean he didn't regret his decisions from time to time. Seriously, the one with the beard had so much hair that it was… disturbing. He gave his head a firm shake to get the memories out of his mind before taking off again towards the shops.

In no time at all he'd found the shop Galbadian Outfitters, though the size made him lean further toward the term store. There were two floors, one dedicated to men and the other women, and as far as he could tell the reputation was well founded. The second floor housed the in-stock men's formal wear, and he was glad to see that there were only a few sections dedicated to those stuffy, tight, monkey suits he'd seen people wearing back at the SeeD Graduation Ball. There was at least one attendant up on the second floor, but they were busy helping a younger teen put together something, so Naruto decided to browse and see what caught his eye. He was not disappointed in the selection, and within five minutes he had an arm full of potential, and he vanished into the changing rooms to try on his possible new threads.

Let it be known that Naruto was in no way the kind of man who did his best to blend in or stick to trends. That being said, when he stepped out of the changing rooms to admire himself in the mirror, he turned several heads. He'd decided to go semi-formal in order to match the general atmosphere of aristocracy that permeated the streets of Deling City while maintaining enough comfort that he could relax and cut loose. Starting from the top he had gone with a form fitting long sleeved dress shirt colored burnt orange. The first two buttons of the shirt were left unbuttoned, though the use of a v-neck allowed for some of his toned upper chest to be visible. Over the shirt he'd chosen a black dress vest that matched his slick black trousers, which he'd neatly tucked his shirt into. and dress shoes nicely. He'd contemplated something with a blazer, but he reconsidered since he would have likely taken it off, and offering a lady who thrives in the cold the warmth of his jacket would have been…

As he struck a few poses for the mirrors to admir his choices he noticed a young woman around his age standing by her family. All of them were gaping at him, but she wore a rather hungry look as she admired the not too subtle lumps of muscle pressing against the fabrid of his shirt and pants. He knew the poor girl would suffer Shiva's wrath if the ice queen could see her, so he averted his gaze in case any of the Guardians were watching through him. Feeling confident in his choices he walked back into the changing room and gathered his clothes into a haphazard bundle. He pulled out one of his empty storage scrolls and sealed everything away quickly so no one would see, and then he walked back out and down to the first floor. The register staff was glad to assist him by finding and clipping each of the tags for scanning, and with a quick swipe of his Junction Watch over the scanners he'd made his first official purchase that wasn't work related.

After he'd left the shop he turned to head off in search of a park or rest area when he caught sight of one of the kiosks nearby. While the shops and stores were all of a higher class, that didn't mean that there weren't respectable little vendors on the foot paths with smaller, more specialized stock to draw the attention of tourists and passersby. The vendor he'd spotted was a purveyor of classy hats, and Naruto had spotted a military style beret the same black hue as his vest and pants. He'd never been much for hats when he was younger, and the Elemental Nations had very little in the way of variety. He flashed a quick grin before buying the hat and placing it atop his wild spikes of golden hair. Now he was ready, it was time to pick up his date.

 **~Scene Shift~**

While the city by the sea was rather lacking in the way of public parks, the few that could be found were quite the spectacle. Naruto stumbled upon one that had been mercifully free of tourist groups due to the late hour, though he did spot the occasional couple out for a late night stroll. This particular patch of urbanized nature was blessed with many rolling hills of dark green grass with lush patches of trees scattered about the park at strategic locations to help dampen the noise of the surrounding city. Much like the parks he was familiar with from the Elemental Nations there were several statues along the foot paths depicting people or beasts of historical significance. During the day he wagered that the park would be quite a lively and energetic place, but at night it was so peaceful that he was almost tempted to let his guard down… almost.

Naruto found the center of the park was home to a rather entertaining feature that without a keen eye could very well catch the average tourist unawares. There was a standard fountain, complete with an ornate statue that allowed several dozen streams of water to rush up and through the air in fanciful arcs that would surely catch the light and leave one breathless. The real attraction though was the cleverly hidden man made geysers built into the ground. This was unlike anything he'd ever seen, even in some of the great capital cities he'd traveled through with Jiraiya on their cursed training trip. He knew he would have to come back there, but that would be for after he'd thoroughly spoiled his date… hehe.

One of the foot paths led away from the main route into a rest area that was well hidden by the surrounding trees. It was a simple little cul-de-sac with a statue of a grieving angel kneeling amongst a patch of flowers. The plaque was simply labeled Aerith, and something about the image filled Naruto with a sense off sadness, though it was very brief. Refocusing on the task at hand he turned about to be sure no one was spying on him before he gathered his magic essence for the summoning.

" **Come to me, my Shiva."** Naruto's voice was a hushed whisper, though the magic in his summoning gave each syllable power to call her to his side.

A soft breeze rushed through the area as the temperature dropped at least ten degrees. Naruto closed his eyes to shield them from the chilly air, and when he felt the atmosphere settle he opened them and found his lips incapable of any other form save a warm smile. Shiva was as breathtaking as ever, though he was relieved to see she had decided to be a tad more conservative in her selection of clothes. Her entire form was draped in a teasingly snug, violet sleeveless dress that ended just above her knees. On her feet she wore a set of matching one inch heels that he was positive he'd never seen anyone wear as well as she did. Between her lightly accentuated curves and the smooth skin of her legs he had to slap himself across the face to wake up from the testosterone induced trance he'd fallen into. A soft giggling brought his attention back up to her face.

Shiva had gone ahead and applied a modest amount of make-up to her lips and eyes, the dark lipstick and eye liner really making her beauty pop. Her hair was twisted into a messy, low ponytail with the sides flowing down in a wavy pattern. Around her neck she wore a black choker with a snowflake nestled just under her chin. Upon closer inspection Naruto noticed that the center of the snowflake had been designed as an Uzumaki swirl, and he felt his lips tighten into an even more genuine smile. He stepped forward toward the lovely ice goddess and found that she'd taken a form that was a half head shorter than him, and while normally he would have felt patronized, he knew Shiva would never insult him in such a way. Kurama would probably get an ass whooping later though, of that he was sure.

"Shiva, do you have any idea what you do to me every time I see you? Being so beautiful has to be against some kind of international law." Naruto took up her right hand and gave the knuckles a soft brushing of his lips as his smile only widened upon catching sight of her blush.

Shiva had been taking in Naruto's features while the young teen was transfixed on her choice of dress. She would freely admit that Naruto's looks had never had much to do with why she found the young man so attractive. Unlike the superficial tendencies of humans she'd been drawn more to the warmth and energy that he gave off. Naruto was like a walking ray of sunlight that even her most frigid winds could not withstand. During the month that they'd spent training for his SeeD exams she found each moment with him greater than the last, and each evening when he would retire she would long for the next day when she felt the familiar intoxicating flood of his magic calling to her. He was a beacon she was only too willing to follow, very nearly rushing to his side with her physical body instead of the limited magical projections that all of her kin could manifest for their summoners.

That being said… Naruto was in no way an ugly specimen. In terms of human standards he more than surpassed the average male in terms of size and shape, even if he was a tad shorter than some. No other human had ever drawn her gaze like Naruto had, and she found the phenomenon rather satisfying. When he would discard his training shirts during particularly intense sessions she would watch as his body would sweat to combat the heat within, the way the sun would glisten against his skin. Even as those days had long passed the ice queen often fantasized about his image, the very thought bringing new and interesting sensations to her physical body. And now as she observed him clad in such neat and flattering attire she found the sight very, very pleasing. Not in the same way that her wild fantasies would please her, rather she felt a swelling of pride, an eagerness to demonstrate her possession of his affections. She would have to consult with Siren later on about her new feelings.

She was woken from her inner ramblings by the gentle touch of his warm skin on her hand, and the light kiss laid on her knuckles brought a smattering of color to her cheeks. Hearing his lighthearted flattering only helped further her growing sense of pride that she had caught his eye, "As a Guardian of the highest caliber I am of course above the laws of your mortal governments. Try as they might, no one could even lay a hand on me." Shiva allowed a little pompous tone to overtake her normally cheerful attitude to strengthen her jest.

Naruto of course took this opportunity to pull her forward into his arms, quickly spinning the two of them around before dipping her backward. With her lower back resting on his knee and his left hand between her shoulder blades he looked deeply into her eyes while wearing a cocky grin, "Hmm, I do believe that is my hand on you, my dear Guardian."

"Well then, I stand corrected." Shiva grew bold and brought her hand up to rest on his cheek, her thumb leaving chilling trails as she drew circles across his whisker marks. The creeping ice dust tickled his skin rather than burning like Naruto thought it would.

In response Naruto leant closer to her face and placed a chaste kiss on her lips, something that brought further flush to both their faces. As their lips parted he brought her back to her feet before stepping back, his left hand taking her right once more, "Would you do me the honor of accompanying me to a late dinner?"

A joyous smile graced her lips, "I would love to, Naruto. However… I don't actually need to eat, heh." She took her hand from his and brought it to her left elbow to rub sheepishly, "This isn't my true physical body… I hope that doesn't bother you."

Naruto decided to drop the playful tone he'd been using and spoke to her from the heart, "Hey, no worries Shiva, I understand. As long as I get to spend my night with the most beautiful lady in town I couldn't care less about the how. Besides, as far as long-distance relationships go, I think I hit the jackpot."

Between his genuine sentiment and the last remark Shiva was left feeling completely relieved. Her spirit having lifted she moved close to Naruto so that she could wrap her arms around his right arm. She let her cheek nuzzle into his bicep lightly, her nose picking up his pleasant scent and bringing another bright smile to her face, "Thank you for being understanding, my Naruto. Now, let's go see what this city has to offer. Cerberus was always eager to brag when comparing this place to Balamb and I would see if that fuzz ball was bluffing or not."

Naruto gave a light chuckle before leading his lovely lady out of the park and into the buzzing city. Having only just arrived in Deling City Naruto had no time to make reservations anywhere of note, so he settled for one of the middle-upper class restaurants in the downtown area. Instead of the stuffy, stiff, holier-than-thou attitude of the upper class joints, the place they'd settled for was warm, welcoming, and lively. From the outside the building appeared older, though this was of course the central theme of Deling City. Inside, while paneled in wood with warm colored paints and dimly lit ceiling fixtures over the tables, there were hints of technology here and there for the trained eye to spot. The tables were arranged around a squared, raised platform surrounding a dance floor on the lower level, and an upper level on the second story could be seen with richly designed, waist high wrought iron guard rails in place to protect customers from falling.

Naruto was glad to hear that the place took walk-ins, and they lucked out getting seats on the upper floor by one of the large windows overlooking the street outside. Being a bit further from the crowded Market District allowed the area to maintain a much quieter, homey atmosphere. The tourists were still mulling about below, but there weren't nearly as many, and most were of a quieter breed that appreciated the city for its charm rather than it's hotspots and attractions.

As was to be expected a blue toned woman walking the streets drew many looks, some merely curious, others shocked, and, much to Naruto's disdain, many of the male population gazed upon her with desire. Naruto would likely have beaten half of them savagely if it weren't for the tight grip his date had on his arm and his reluctance to free himself from her embrace. The reasoning for her tight hold had nothing to do with the waves of ill intent that her companion was releasing every so often. The lecherous gazes weren't limited to the men taking in her divinity. No, there were plenty of female humans lurking about casting their jealous and hungered looks at Naruto. She reasoned that she wouldn't want to trouble Naruto and his team by causing wanton destruction on the female population, though she imagined her dwelling in the Balamb Mountains could always use a few more ice sculptures to liven things up.

As the two of them were brought to their table Naruto finally broke free from the icy grip of his beautiful lady for the sake of preparing her seat. Shiva was impressed and embarrassed by the gentlemanly gesture and took her seat without a word, not quite sure how to appropriately vocalize her odd mixture of emotions. The flushed smile she offered to the blonde seemed to placate him as his shoulders released a barely noticeable tension and he took his own seat. Naruto, having learned the laws of underage drinking for this world differed from his own, ordered the both of them a pair of mixed drinks from the non-alcoholic menu and watched the server, who happened to be a young brunette woman about a year younger than himself, take his order with a blush before scurrying away like a scared field mouse.

He noticed the slight glare Shiva was sending toward the back of the retreating server and couldn't suppress a chuck, "My, Shiva-hime… I had no idea you were the jealous type."

The icy deity flinched before turning her gaze toward the table with her cheeks flaring a deep violet, "I don't fully understand it… but the way she was looking at you made me very angry. Is that a bad thing? I have felt jealousy before, but never truly experienced it like this…"

"If feeling jealous when your date is being undressed by some other person's eyes is a bad thing then I'm probably going to hell." Naruto gave a lighthearted chuckle as he leant forward toward her, his arms resting on the table.

With the idea to undress Naruto with her eyes introduced to her she found her gaze flicking between him and the white cloth table cover, "What do you mean?"

Naruto gave a small huff before glancing out the window, his cheeks going slightly pink out of embarrassment, "On the way here there were a bunch of guys, and even some girls, ogling you like some kind of prime rib platter. I had all I could do to not leave a bunch of my clones to torture the lot of them with construction paper and lemons…"

Shiva couldn't help the giggle that escaped her lips, and with it the embarrassment and insecurity was gone. Granted she still felt a bit awkward about her actions, but something about Naruto made things so much easier to deal with, "Did you say construction paper and lemons?"

Naruto flashed her a big grin with a little hint of evil twinkling in his eyes, "They have the best firmness to sharpness ratio for truly memorable paper cuts. Toss in a bit of lemon juice and…" He gave a soft hissing sound that had Shiva going pale for a moment. That did indeed promise a most painful experience, if a bit juvenile.

Deciding to switch back for a moment and inadvertently transition from the topic of torture Shiva took on a slightly timid demeanor, "So you were feeling the same jealousy over me…?"

Naruto's prankster grin faded and he looked over at Shiva with a calm, firm expression, "Absolutely. It might sound selfish, but tonight I want you all to myself. Every time they look at you like that I worry they might try to steal you away from me."

Shiva reached across the table to take both of his hands in hers. When Naruto looked up from the sudden action he was witness to the most dazzling smile he'd ever seen, "My Naruto, no matter what anyone might be thinking, there is no one I'd rather be with, okay?"

While he would never admit it to anyone openly, Naruto was very insecure when it came to matters of the heart. As had been said many time and will be said many times more, being an orphan can often make things like love difficult to understand. He'd spent some time pretending to be infatuated with a girl back in his original world, and even that had been difficult for him to simulate. There were others, most awkward due to the circumstances of the situations at the time, but he'd never been brave enough to try and embrace the opportunities. This being a new world he had been willing to try, and of course he had been failing, at least in his eyes. This jealousy thing was born of his inability to accept that he was worthy of affection and the innate fear that his unworthiness would drive his love interest into the arms of some devil on the street with a strong jaw and a height advantage… damned tall bastards.

The whole thing was embarrassing and had been the bane of his thoughts during their entire walk. He felt justified, but he felt his desires to be silly and inappropriate. And then he saw Shiva looking at their server and recognized the same glare he'd been pointing this way and that, and his worries began to waver. If someone as beautiful, intelligent, and powerful as Shiva, one of the three original elemental Guardians, had been feeling jealous too, then perhaps he wasn't so silly after all. That didn't change the fact that she was still the same woman, still as gorgeous, still as enticing, and he was still just Uzumaki Naruto. And just as he was set on the idea she revealed yet another truth: she was just as insecure about him. Him, of all people, for Kami's sake! A woman like Shiva had no right looking so timid over someone like him, so he laid it all out clear and simple. He never expected her to say anything to his reply, she had no reason to put him at ease, it wasn't her responsibility. And just like that, with only a few words, she'd been able to brush aside years and years worth of doubt and low self-esteem.

Naruto gave a sniff to force back his emotions so that he could maintain at least some of his machismo and when he was sure his voice wouldn't betray his false front he spoke with a warm smile, "Okay, my Shiva-hime. There's no one I'd rather be with either." He gave her hand a light squeeze as the both of them shared a silent moment together, warmth and chill surrounding them.

Their server, who'd been silently watching from the bar with their drinks already prepared and ready for delivery, was impassive as she locked her eyes on the odd couple. She brought up a dainty hand to brush back some of her hair and from just behind her ears two very small wings stretched and flexed like cramped arms. Nearby, the bartender, a very tall and broad shouldered man with a shaved head and very angular jaw, eyed her odd appendages with slight amusement. The pair of them were dressed in the standard uniform of the establishment: white dress shirts tucked into dark blue slacks, black shoes, and blue ties around their necks. The bartender's shirt was rather baggy for his frame, though it was pulled taut to his toned chest. Why? Because of his oddly shaped back, which of course flexed and moved every so often much like… wings?

"Careful, your glamour is wearing off sister." The bartender kept his eyes firmly on a bourbon glass in his hands, his black nails a stark contrast to his pale skin.

The server huffed before tucking her small wing extensions away the best she could, "I am just flustered, brother. The human has smitten our sister rather well, and even the temptations of others have failed to expose his true nature. All he ever noticed were the humans observing sister Shiva. It is mind boggling and frustrating."

"My dear Siren, far be it from me to be the voice of reason between us… but perhaps you are wrong this time? This is the same human who risked his life to save you, remember… And, though I am loathe to admit this, he was able to break me from my prison." The bartender set the thoroughly cleaned glass aside before taking up another, spitting into the crystal so that he could give it a proper shine, much to the disgust of the patrons nearby.

The now revealed Siren turned a glaring eye toward her brother, though her naturally kind and pretty demeanor were enough to negate any ill intent behind it, "Diablos, surely you aren't suggesting we let this be? A decent human he may be, but he is a mortal nonetheless. Our brethren have been hurt before because of their flighty, unpredictable nature. Shiva is the only one of us left unscathed. Whether it be today, tomorrow, or the day of his death… he will eventually break her heart. The selfishness of humanity knows no bounds."

Diablos grunted quietly to acknowledge her argument before he looked over toward the couple. Naruto had sparked some kind of conversation with Shiva and had the ice Guardian giggling away behind her hand. The demonic gravity wielder would have found such a sight heartwarming once. He had his own fond memories from the days when True Summoners were far more common. He turned his gaze back to Siren and saw the look of worry she wore and it hurt him to see her so. He put the glass away before leaning on the bar, "Siren… it may not be a desirable method, and it would likely ostracize us from the others for quite a long time… but perhaps we should consider ending the human."

Siren spun around in her seat so quickly she nearly fell over, "E-end him? Whatever do you mean?" She knew exactly what he meant, but she couldn't comprehend the idea of one of their kind considering inflicting harm on a summoner without being ordered by an enemy summoner. Even in those cases it was often very traumatic, and should two Guardians be summoned to oppose one another in such a way…

"I understand your concern sister, I do… however, seeing you stricken with such worry and stress is something that I cannot allow. When I see a problem I do not simply brush it aside, I fix is. This human's meddlesome emotions are corrupting Shiva and her inevitable heartbreak would bring greater sadness to you and the rest of our kin. We end him now, we force the lesser of two evils on her and within a decade she will have returned to her former self. It was the same with Ifrit, though that was less my choice as it was happy coincidence." Diablos had his eyes on Shiva so he missed the utter disbelief that flashed across Siren's face.

The life deity kept her gaze on her brother for a long moment before she spoke again, "Diablos… how could you speak so casually about such a thing? The death of our brother's lover was a happy coincidence? A decade of grief is the lesser of two evils? What happened to you? What made you become so cold towards humans?"

Diablos turned his face toward Siren with an impassive façade, "Forgive me, it wasn't my intention to cause you distress. I only wanted to offer my opinion, that is all." He turned away and walked further down the bar to maintain his cover as a common bartender, his eyes betraying nothing of his inner turmoil.

 **~Line Break~**

Dinner went rather smoothly after the couple helped settle each other's doubts. Naruto had ordered a light dinner for himself, and while Shiva could not actually consume anything she could still taste, so he convinced her to order a small dish of any dessert she wanted. Naruto was surprised when he saw that Shiva could swallow her food without worry, and she explained that she could technically eat, but there would be no nutrition gains from it. It was then that he realized that the crazy woman had been trying to save him money on the meal, so he vowed to make her order a proper dinner on their next date. The promise of another date and his adamant refusal to allow her the chance to miss out on any aspect of said date left Shiva feeling elated. With their conversations taking so long the two of them were eventually the last couple to leave the restaurant, effectively closing the place down.

The midnight hour was upon them and yet the nightlife of Deling City had yet to slow down. Naruto took Shiva for a stroll around central city so that she could see more of the city that her brother had always bragged so much about. They stopped to have their picture taken by one of the street vendors who sold instant photos along with specialized frames and custom printed shirts. Naruto kept one copy for his wallet and promised to give her the other he purchased as soon as he returned to Balamb. After that the two of them stopped near a small square to observe some street performers showing off their acrobatic skills. Naruto would freely admit that he was impressed by their moves, though he knew such things were child's play back in the Elemental Nations. He left the lot of them a nice tip after paying a visit to a nearby ATM which earned him a searing kiss from his date right on the lips in front of the crowd. It was very brief, but no less pleasant than any other kiss, so he had nary a complaint, only the question of why. She told him it was a gift for his generous act, while secretly she was marking her territory for the less subtle women in the crowd who'd been eyeing up his firm rear when he bent over to place his offering in the performer's donation basket.

Eventually the date had to come to an end, especially since it was about one in the morning and the magic maintaining her form would soon run dry. Naruto escorted the lovely lady back to the park, though instead of the little enclosure he'd summoned her to before he took her to the center of the park. He had his arm firmly wrapped around her waist as they strolled down the dark paths of the park, the sound of the running water at the fountain echoing around them. Shiva was pressed into his side qnd secretly using a bit of her magic to hover along with him, her feet no longer touching the ground. Sure, it was cheating, but it wasn't like he wasn't enjoying having such a beautiful woman so snugly tucked into his side, and if he complained she would just have him walk in heels around the city on their next date.

"Tonight was fun. I hope you didn't mind the simplicity of the date, I didn't have much time to plan and all." Naruto gave her side a bit of a rub with his hand, enjoying the chill that seeped through her dress into his fingers.

Shiva gave a bright smile as she felt the light touches, "We could have spent another night stargazing for all I care, as long as it was time spent with you. I hope you aren't disappointed I lied about the whole… eating thing."

He smirked a bit and then brought his free hand up to tap her nose, chuckling when she let out a tiny sneeze sending flakes of snow rushing through the air, "Nah, not disappointed, just a little miffed is all. I invited you out on this date fully intent on spoiling you. I can't be mad though, you were only thinking about it logically, and your heart was in the right place… plus you're really cute."

As the two of them entered the central area of the park Shiva let out a gasp of awe, her eyes locking on the fountain before them. In the late hour a set of timed lights had turned on to illuminate the impressive work of art, the streams of water glowing. She flew from his side over to the fountain and circled around twice gracefully, making sure she took in every detail. Naruto held back a bit, hoping that his surprise wouldn't be revealed before she returned to his side. From his spot he watched the woman behave much like a child, her excitable nature and somewhat naïve demeanor at times were rather charming. She was just so darn full of happiness whenever the two of them were together, and he had no idea that he was a large influence on this. He thought back to all the times he'd seen her down or upset, and each time had been when he was suffering from one wound or another. And then he was struck by an odd sense of foreboding, a dreadful shiver working its way from his neck to his tailbone. If he were a lesser man he would be afraid, but these odd senses of impending trouble or death were pretty common for him, so he shook it off. Lucky thing he did too, because the moment his head was clear he saw Shiva floating back toward him.

He quickly maneuvered his body so that she flew directly into his chest rather than beside him, and he wrapped his arms around her waist to hold her tight. Shiva flushed for the thousandth time that evening as she felt his strong, warm embrace nearly smothering her. While nothing on the planet save for the apocalypse could truly threaten her, an odd sense of safety washed over her. Her eyes traveled up from the dark vest he wore to his exposed chest beneath that burnt orange shirt, to his neck and strong jaw, and finally settling on his eyes. It was odd for a human his age to have such deep, knowing eyes. She found herself eager to dive into them and lose herself. This had to be love, this feeling in her chest and stomach, like she was ill and never better all at once. Was it love when another being both terrified you and enchanted you at the same time? Eager and afraid to hand over her heart to another, to fully trust someone with her entire being… Both of their indecision was the cause of their chaotic entanglement. Her reluctance to accept her feelings while simultaneously expressing her feelings during times of great stress… Why was love so complicated?

And just like that, her mind went blank as a pair of rough lips touched her own, warmth normally unnoticeable like a fire against her icy skin. It was so very gentle, so very loving, and it was able to still her thoughts and tame her emotions. At first her lips responded in kind, but the action was a mere auto-pilot response as she came to grips with her introspective maelstrom. As soon as she was fully aware, she eagerly pressed forward to further deepen and impassion the intimacy. Nothing in the world could compare to this sensation…

And then, the water jets around them came alive, and with the sound of blasting water came the light shriek of surprise from Shiva, followed by the thunderous laughter of Naruto. The ice queen broke away from Naruto the moment she felt her dress hiked up and become thoroughly soaked in cool water. Naruto faired no better as both his sides were assaulted by jets of water firing in arcs. The pressure caused the water to touch on his ticklish nerves and he was soon consumed in light chuckles. Shiva couldn't help giggling at his misfortune, and then she was forced to leap forward as a particularly fresh jet of water fired directly into her rear end. Face flush in embarrassment she turned to face the jet and defend herself from the offending water, only for another to fire at her behind, the resulting squeal echoing around the park.

Naruto ran over to her and pulled her away from the streams of water attacking her, though they weren't very lucky. They ran headlong into a gauntlet of tricky and unpredictable water firing all over the place. Instead of turning away the two of them just ran right through, laughing the entire way. Neithe gave a thought for their state of dress, only the incredibly childish activity they'd stumbled on. Of course for Naruto it wasn't so much a stumble as a planned and executed trap. He knew that Shiva more of less generated whatever clothes she wore at any given time, so all that he had to worry about were his own clothes, not something he really gave a proper damn about on a good day. This was about cutting loose and winding down their romantic evening with a good bit of fun, something the both of them needed.

At the peak of the watery performance the two of them were standing together in the center of the watery prison. Naruto leaned down until his lips pressed lightly against her ear, "Follow my lead, okay?" He felt her tremble and he couldn't help smiling knowing that it had nothing to do with the cold water soaking her dress.

Naruto had his chest pressed firmly against her back, his left arm wrapped around her waist with his hand on her stomach. He brought his right hand up in order to offer it to her. Catching on she brought her left hand up to lock their fingers together. Naruto then began to channel Wind Essence into his right hand, the warmth and potency of his magic again sending involuntary shivers through her. Knowing that he was waiting on her she channeled her powerful Ice Essence into her hand, and soon the Wind and Ice began to meld together much like they did during their battle with Minotaur and Sacred. He whispered a countdown from five into her ear, her head tilting involuntarily to press into his warmth. When he reached one the both of them let their magic pulse outward, her Ice taking precedence over his Wind. The resulting dome of power quickly froze the water around them only to be forced outward into countless flakes of snow.

Shiva watched their impromptu snow flurry coating the area in a blanket of fresh powder that reminded her of their night at the ball. She turned in Naruto's arms until her chest was pressed into his and saw that familiar grin of his brightening up his face. She grinned right back at him before reaching up to brush the fallen snow from his beret and shoulders. He let out a small squawk of protest when a splattering of snow fell over his face. She giggled before brushing the flakes from his cheeks and lips, her fingers lingering for a moment as he just watched her, not saying a word, not moving a muscle to disturb her or ruin the moment. And Naruto was rewarded when Shiva stood on her tip toes and pressed her lips into his, stealing a second kiss from him to make up for the interruption minutes before.

With no distractions their embrace was allowed to intensify once more. His strong hands moved to rest on her side, just barely brushing against the upper curve of her hips. Shiva brought her arms up to wrap around his neck, locking the blonde in place for her to have her way, his escape thoroughly thwarted before it could even be dreamt up. When Naruto felt a tapping he knew all too well what his lady wanted, and soon enough his lips parted in invitation. His reciprocation did not go unnoticed, and when he felt the intrusion he was all too eager to thoroughly investigate. So intense was their passion that neither of them felt the last few remnants of Shiva's magical essence draining away. The two broke their lip lock to peer into each other's eyes, their panting breaths clashing to create a white mist between them.

"Time 's up, huh?" Naruto took notice of her form shimmering slightly in his arms, his hands having moved to the small of her back during their rather mind numbing make-out session.

Shiva gave a grumble as her lidded eyes glared down at her slowly fluctuating form, "Looks like it. Sorry about this…"

Naruto hushed her and gave her slowly fading nose a small peck that brought back her smile, "No worries Hime, you're always with me. Get some rest, okay? I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be tough, so I might need to call you into battle." Naruto looked like he wanted to say something else, something more, but he instead gave her forehead a gentle kiss before it could become fully incorporeal.

Shiva struggled as well with wanting to say something, something that made her heart flutter and her stomach turn more than anything. It didn't feel like the right time… not yet, but eventually she knew she would say it. So, she gave him one last loving smile before she faded back into him, Naruto's hands falling to his sides as nothingness replaced the firm body he'd been holding. He gave a sigh, not out of exasperation or frustration, rather of relief and contentedness. As far as he could tell she'd enjoyed the night with him, so that meant his side mission had been a success. He'd have to do better next time if he wanted to spoil her properly, especially since she was such a sweet thing. Next time… he was sure there would be a next time, and with that thought he practically skipped back to the Galbadia Hotel, completely unaware that his lips were a brilliant shade of violet, as well as the smudges around said lips.

 **~End Line~**

 **~A Wild Omake Appears!~**

 **~Momma Quistie, Rin-rin, and Seifu-chan~**

 **~Food of the Guardians!~**

While the leader of Team Beta was off gallivanting about Deling City wooing his lady love, his underlings were off on an adventure together in the Lower Market. Quistis, though not in charge at the moment, was of course the only voice of reason to be had among her peers. Actually, strike that, she wasn't even among peers, she was with a young client and one of her most troubled students, both of whom had no rank in SeeD. So, if one were to sum up her role at the time, she was the designated babysitter, something she would be sure to bring up with Naruto upon their next meeting. Momma Quistie ain't no fool, and she will be paid her dues for having to deal with these children. And children is exactly how she would describe Seifer Almasy and Rinoa Heartilly.

Everything began as smooth as fine silk with Seifer taking the lead and guiding the three man cell to the Lower Market. There is where the cheapest priced goods would be sold, and while such goods would normally be a terrible investment, it was common knowledge that healing supplies, ammunition, and other such goods were usually un-tampered with. There would be the occasional dud or mislabeled potion, sure, but the pros outweighed the cons, and they needed to get a higher quantity instead of higher quality due to their time limit. The first few shops went by like a breeze. Ammo was purchased for Leon, Seifer, Irvine, and Naruto. Selphie's grocery list of healing potions, salves, first aid, and antidotes was easily taken care of in a matter of minutes with the help of an elderly, half-blind pharmacist.

And then they had to fetch the team some dinner…

Seifer was standing firm, arms crossed, eyes shut, forehead pulsing with the flow of blood through his veins. Behind him was a pizza shop, hardly the kind of food for growing boys, especially soldiers in training, but that didn't mean he didn't think that pizza was the Guardians Chosen Food of Heaven. He had made his point abundantly clear over the course of a half hour, going so far as to reference non-existent texts that made mention of non-existent ancient tablets, all of which ultimately pointed towards the validity of his claims. Pizza was awesome, and that is exactly what they were going to get before heading back to the Galbadia Hotel.

Unfortunately for Seifer he hadn't anticipated the existence of a food rival in little Rinoa Hertilly. Rinoa, Princess of the Forest Owls, was not a fan of fatty, greasy, cheese soaked pizza, and there was absolutely no turning her from such heinous claims. Instead, she was deadest on converting the world to her beliefs, which is why she was standing firm outside the display window of a burger shop. Yes, sweet, innocent, incredibly trim little Rinoa was not simply a lover of burgers. Nay, Rinoa was a believer in the Burger Guardian, a deity of the utmost power and influence. Entry into heaven was judged on the quantity and quality of the burgers consumed over one's lifetime. Any and all food besides burgers exists to compliment burgers, which of course require a place in every meal.

Quistis found the entire exchange incredibly stupid, the idea that the Guardians would force worship of such tasteless and horrid foods on the mortals of Gaia. Everyone who was anyone knew that sushi was of course the only blessed food, created by the Guardians during a council gathering well over a thousand years in the past. Sushi was collectively healthier for people than those greasy foods, far classier than any other food on the market, and came in a wide variety that surpassed the silly concept of toppings that burgers and pizzas were limited to. That being said, she was under no obligation to stand between the two children and their antics. Sushi was something that one found on their own, something that was voluntary.

Seifer gave his hair a run through with his hand before flashing a toothy grin that twinkled in the light from the pizza storefront, "Pizzas have been supportive of the vegan community for far longer than those filthy grease sponges you call food. Only the Guardians would have the forethought to bless the vegan population with a proper meal that would not offend their palette." Yes, the argument had gone on long enough to collapse into pure, unadulterated pettiness.

Rinoa would not be denied as she thrust an accusatory finger his way, "So you say, but those over baked pita pastries take practically no effort at all to properly see to their needs. The Guardians would never simply hand over such things, they would give humanity a challenge to overcome, something to strive for that would truly be worthwhile. The vegan burger took so long to develop because it was something worth working on until it was perfect."

"Those vegan burgers are the stuff of nightmares. Their taste is appalling and there are hardly any condiments in the world that come close to making them bearable enough to consume. Meanwhile, vegan friendly pizzas are the work of legends. Sonnets have been written of their glory! You cannot deny the awesomeness that is pizza, you burger harlot." Seifer turned his back to the young girl with a condescending huff.

Rinoa's eye twitched before she flashed through her inventory. In a move that Quistis could hardly track the girl had loaded a cheeseburger into her Blaster Edge, "You will bow to the greatness of burgers you heathen, and may the Guardians have mercy on you for your transgressions!"

Seifer heard the blast of her weapon and the scent of greasy ground beef and bland cheese assaulted his senses. He turned quickly and barely missed being splattered by the offending burger. With a growl he gave his left hand a harsh jerk, clicking his thumb and forefinger together. In a flash a pizza box flew out of the restaurant behind him to land firmly on his ready palm. Reaching into his pocket he brought out a stainless steel pizza cutter before flicking the box on his palm open with another jerk of his wrist. Rinoa was working furiously to equip a new burger even as Seifer sliced his pizza into eight equal slices. He flung his pizza cutter sideways before pressing a button on the handle. The circular blade folded inward before a set of two needles as thick as nails and three inches long locked into place.

In no time at all he'd skewered a slice of pizza onto the needles, effectively combining the two into a short pizza-sword, "I'm afraid that your time has come Rinoa. Our past notwithstanding, it is up to the believers to pass judgment here on Gaia. It is with grief that you have been deemed unfit to continue on, and I am allowed to show you and your kind… **No Mercy**."

Seifer focused his Pizza Essence before launching a burst of heated magic at Rinoa, the heat around said girl ranging up to about four hundred fifty degrees Fahrenheit. With the girl temporarily stunned he began to focus his energy into his pizza blade, the weapon spinning between his deft fingers. Rinoa, strengthened by the resolve that only a healthy lifestyle fueled by the burgers of divinity could provide, resisted the prolonged stun of the oven-like heat and leapt out of the way of the large slices of pepperoni that were sent her way, the scent of cheap sauce and oil heavy in the air. Resisting the urge to gag, she ran around Seifer hoping to catch him off by flanking.

Seifer was prepared for anything, his body and mind powered by his beloved and most sacred pizza. When the offending burgers began to fly toward him he used the agility he'd been training since he was a boy, combined with the flexibility that he'd worked for after being inspired by his floppy, bendable pizza to dodge, duck, dip, dive, and dodge away from each patty, bun, and sour pickle. He would admit to no one how impressive the girl was with her Burger Blaster, but he would not be denied victory here. He flew toward her with a burst of speed, his boots coated in the smooth and tangy pizza sauce he'd carefully spread over the battlefield with subtle swings of his blade. Closer and closer, he had to move faster, and then he began to spin, his pizza blade sending out a burst of heat toward Rinoa just a moment before.

Rinoa took the blast of heat like a trooper, her years of slaving over a hot grill giving her occasional passive resistance to intense heat. As she watched Seifer begin to draw closer he started spinning like a top, his pizza blade sharpening menacingly. She would not fall to this boy, not when there was so much at stake. Her burgers… the Burger Guardian… everything she had ever worked for in her quest to ascend to the heavens… The young girl loosed a guttural growl, and soon her skin took on a glow like glistening oil in the light of an overhead kitchen fixture. From her back she grew a pair of angelic French fry wings, each giving off the pleasant aroma of the deep fryer. This was it… this was the blessing that she'd been waiting all those years for. This was power…!

"Take this, you cursed heathen, and let pizza guide you into the sweet embrace of mozzarella cheese! **Demon Pizza Slice!** " Seifer very nearly converged on Rinoa's seemingly defenseless form, a whirlwind of cheese, sauce, and various toppings promising a swift and decisive victory for the blonde.

Rinoa, with only an inch of space between herself and Seifer's disgusting attack, had finally finished channeling her Burger Essence. A green barrier had formed in the shape of a Protect spell, though the texture and scent suggested it was a giant pickle slice. With the whirlwind held at bay by her divine power she brought hellish wrath from the heavens down with a single, powerful spell, "Seifer Almasy, my love for you as a dear friend has forced my hand. Fear not, for this pain shall end and drive you onto the correct path. **Meat-e-or**." Her voice was calm, though her eyes betrayed the intensity of her emotions.

Even as his world spun fiercly Seifer was not unaware enough to miss the gigantic hamburger plummeting from the sky, an aura of mixed Forbidden and Burger Essence flooding the street around them. The shadow cast across the Lower Market should have sent people into hysterics, but oddly enough everyone seemed completely unaware of their impending doom. When the burger struck his vortex of pizza there was a moment where both attacks struggled to overtake the other. The stuggle lasted for far longer than either of them would have anticipated. However, everything has an end, and the stability of both abilities broke sending out an explosion of sauce, grease, cheese, lettuce, and pepperoni that coated the entirety of the Lower Market, and half of the South Residential District.

Quistis, always one to prepare thanks to the nourishing effects of her sushi nurturing a healthy mind, let the Shell-Protect Combo spell shatter around her. Being so close to the epicenter of the catastrophe she was lucky to be unsauced and oil free. The same could not be said for Seifer and Rinoa, both of whom were buried beneath piles of their enemy's most sacred toppings. Sat in between them on a pedestal of stacked lettuce leaves and pizza crusts was what first appeared to be a burger. There was a bun, sesame seed at that, and the patty was visible. However, what one wouldn't have foreseen was the toppings settled beneath the top bun: sauce and melted mozzarella cheese.

Quistis walked over to the odd little pizza-burger hybrid and found a note written on what was likely the paper of the divine ones. She took the card and read aloud for all to hear, "For our sake, will you two shut up and just order a bunch of pizzaburgers?"

Two resounding echoes of moist palms slapping equally moist faces would forever haunt the dreams of Lower Market Deling City.

 **~End Line Dues~**

 **There we go my beautiful senpais, I hope you enjoyed this new chapter. As always I look forward to the next time, and be sure to drop a review or send me a PM.**

 **Also, I wanted to talk about this fic and my thoughts on certain things that have come to my attention of late. First of all, I was only vaguely aware of how lacking this particular crossover was on FF. There are a grand total of eight NaruxFFVIII… eight! That is so staggeringly small that I had to triple check I wasn't drunk. While this probably wouldn't seem like a big deal to the casual observer, from my perspective it is a huge deal. I am technically responsible for keeping this crossover genre alive. Every other story listed is dead, even the one posted by my secret idol Kyuubi16!**

 **If it weren't for you guys out there faving and following Guardian Enforcer wouldn't be here on FF, so you can all pat yourselves on the back for that. Thanks for being supportive, and even if the task wasn't very daunting, thanks for making this fiction the number one fic for this crossover section. No matter how long it takes for me to post, this story won't be dying, that's the promise of a lifetime!**


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